Investment in rural water sector increases to over €15m
Eoghan Murphy, Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government has announced the further 2017 grant allocations to local authorities for group water and group sewerage schemes, providing an additional €3.676m under the 2017 Rural Water Programme over the interim allocations of €11.696 already announced in June.
The allocations to local authorities, which amount to over €15.372 million, are provided under his Department’s Rural Water Programme. The funding is aimed primarily towards the improvement of water quality in existing group water schemes, the upgrading and water conservation works in group water scheme distribution networks, take-over of group water schemes by Irish Water where it is the most sustainable long-term solution and the scheme has agreed to do so, and new group water schemes – such new schemes enable rural households, to have a supply of good quality piped water for the first time. Funding is also being provided towards group sewerage schemes.
The 2017 allocation of over €15.372 million represents an increase of nearly 46.4% on the 2016 expenditure of just under €10.5 million on group water and sewerage schemes to fund continued improvement works in the group water sector.
This year is the second year of the Department’s new approach – the Multi-annual Rural Water Programme 2016-2018 – for funding the rural water sector. The purpose of the new multi-annual programme, with its more scheme-based or project-based approach, is to provide enhanced funding certainty for priority investment needs in the sector. This year continues the transition to the new funding approach commenced in 2016. Responsibility for the administration of the programme is largely devolved to the local authorities.
The Department was assisted again this year by an Expert Panel convened to examine the proposals from local authorities and make recommendations for funding.
The Minister said: “I wish to thank the Expert Panel for their work and I accept their recommendations in full in making the rural water allocations this year. My Department’s new rolling multi-annual funding programme introduced last year moves away from an annual block grant approach and provides certainty to the sector on funding of projects.”
The Minister added that the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government intends to shortly commence a review to quantify what additional investment is required to equalise treatment between those using public water services and those who do not (i.e. those in group water schemes, with private wells and using septic tanks) as recommended by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services. This will include engagement with the National Federation of Group Water Schemes, and other stakeholders.
The Minister reaffirmed that: “The Group Water sector continues, over many years, to be a champion for investment in water services, for water conservation, for emphasising the importance of water as a resource. Sustained investment in the Group Water sector continues to be a priority for Government. We recognise that throughout the length and breadth of rural Ireland rural life needs infrastructural investment in key services – not least in water services. High quality sustainable water services are a fundamental necessity to people’s lives and do not distinguish between rural or urban and this is why the Government continues to prioritise funding in the group water sector in parallel with the overall funding for water services generally.”
The Minister concluded, “The Government remains committed to the continued support of the Group Water sector as an important element of the water industry in Ireland, founded on co-operative community and voluntary engagement, and to investment in the sector to sustain and improve quality standards and performance”.
