Uisce Éireann holding Kerry to ‘ransom’ says councillor as Gaeltacht areas lack ‘vital’ infrastructure

By Alastair Tibbs, The Kerryman

A Kerry councillor has threatened to fundamentally revise the council’s planning framework over state agency Uisce Éireann holding the county to “ransom” as the housing crisis grows.

Councillor Deirdre Ferris proposed that the County Development Plan be amended to allow private water infrastructure in urban areas if the agency continued to achieve little progress in Kerry.

Housing development has stalled over the years in various parts of Kerry due to the lack of capacity in water and wastewater treatment, infrastructure now owned by Uisce Éireann.

To add to the difficulties, private water services are not allowed to be built in places with already existing public infrastructure, which includes most of the county’s towns and major villages, thus leaving the local authority at the mercy of Uisce Éireann’s national priorities.

“Uisce Éireann cannot hold us to ransom like they’re doing. They are causing significant infrastructure problems when it comes to the housing crisis,” said Cllr Ferris at a council meeting last week.

“We cannot allow rural communities that are in massive decline…to decline further because Irish Water are not doing their job.”

There are exceptions to this rule, with 38 settlements in the county allowed to develop private wastewater services alongside the existing public service. While these include smaller clusters of houses such as Cromane, Camp and Scartaglin, there are no larger settlements in whitelisted.

Fenit is one such place that has not been included in the list but has public wastewater infrastructure at full capacity. In 2021 Uisce Éireann announced it would upgrade Fenit’s wastewater treatment plant, however little progress had been made.

With the plant at capacity, no new developments can take place despite the council owning land in the village.

Cllr Ferris said house prices in Fenit have “blown up”, with a recently sold house starting at €140,000 and being eventually sold for over double the price at €320,000.

“Their failure to progress this project as an absolute priority in the middle of a housing crisis and the impact they’re having all over the county with wastewater services, is hindering our ability to build social and affordable housing,” she said.

“The local authority has land there and they cannot develop it because of Irish Water.”

Dingle-based Councillor Breandán Fitzgerald highlighted the similar plight of Kerry’s Gaeltacht areas, calling for a “clear plan” and “urgent action” from Uisce Éireann.

He said every village and small village in the Chorca Dhuibhne Gaeltacht had been shown to have no capacity for wastewater treatment and emphasised settlements could not grow without this “vital infrastructure”.

“We are proud the Chorca Dhuibhne Gaeltacht and Uíbh Ráthaigh Gaeltacht are the heart of our language, but we must sustain vibrant communities by providing them with basic services needed for housing and development,” said Cllr Fitzgerald.

“Without proper water and wastewater infrastructure growth cannot happen. Planning permission is stalled, developments are delayed, and young families are left without homes. These investments are key to unlocking housing growth and opportunity.”

“It’s a bloody embarrassment at this stage that we don’t have basic infrastructure,” added Councillor Robert Brosnan.