Uisce Éireann asked to fast track plans for wastewater treatment plant in Aughrim

By Hugh O'Farrell Walsh, The Wicklow People

Uisce Éireann is facing calls to address the increasing number of outages for residents in parts of south Wicklow and north Wexford.

Reports suggest there have been 24 instances of water outages of 24 hours or more in Gorey town over the last 18 months.

The area of Tara Hill and Ballymoney experienced outages on a regular basis.

Raising the issue in the Dáil, Wicklow-Wexford TD Malcolm Byrne insisted the local community wouldn’t be subject to these outages if the proper infrastructure was in place.

“Communities like Aughrim in County Wicklow and Ferns and Camolin in County Wexford have been waiting for more than 20 years for a wastewater treatment plant.”

“What guarantees can we be given that, when the Government puts the investment into water and wastewater infrastructure, Uisce Éireann will be accountable and will deliver so we can ensure that the outages we have been experiencing will not happen at the same levels again?” he added.

In response, Tánaiste Simon Harris said discussions are ongoing about how the project can be expedited while citing the significant increase in capital spending.

“Generally, on infrastructure delivery including water, the reforms that the minister, Deputy Chambers, introduced in his Department included the establishment of the new infrastructure delivery unit. The people there are responsible not just for counting the money but also for asking where a particular project is at. Irish Water is involved in that.”

“In some smaller towns and villages, including those the Deputy referenced, we must look at allowing developers to get on with putting in place the necessary infrastructure to Irish Water's standards.”

“If a developer is willing to build eight, ten or twelve houses and we are prepared to allow that developer to do the internal infrastructure, why not let them do the external infrastructure as well? There is openness on the part of Irish Water in this regard.”

Deputy Byrne said the current pace of large-scale infrastructure projects is still too slow.

“Our problem with certain State agencies is what I can only describe as a ‘Bulmers’ approach to delivery - nothing added but time. Some of our delivery has been particularly poor.”

Uisce Éireann recently confirmed the treatment plant in Aughrim isn’t likely to reach the construction stage before 2029.

Selected under Irish Water’s Small Towns and Villages Growth Programme, which aims to invest in local water infrastructure to provide additional capacity, the proposed facility has been going through the necessary stages, including detailed design, planning, and procurement, over the past four years.

If more funding becomes available for these types of projects, and stage three is completed, involving the final business case, planning and tendering, then construction could progress earlier than that.