2026-06-25

81. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department will provide sufficient funding to Uisce Éireann to upgrade the wastewater systems in towns and villages within the wider Dublin commuter belt, which now includes Laois, where lands have been rezoned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48497/26]

There is a request, which I have no problem with, that local authorities in the wider Dublin catchment area zone land for a large increase in the population and the number of dwellings. That needs infrastructure. However, given the tight budgets that local authorities operate with, will funding be provided, particularly through Irish Water, for the infrastructure required for wastewater and water supply?

I appreciate the Deputy’s question on water supply, wastewater systems and Uisce Éireann. Both our water and wastewater systems require substantial and sustained investment over a number of investment cycles to bring them up to the standard and quality required of a modern service to provide people with the necessary supports, ensure growth and build resilience in the face of climate change. My Department is delivering a sustainable funding path to further enhance the ongoing significant improvements in our public water and wastewater services. Since its inception, Uisce Éireann has ramped up capital delivery capability for water services and infrastructure from a mere €300 million in 2014 to €1.4 billion as part of budget 2026. Under the national development plan, the Government is supporting Uisce Éireann with a record allocation of €11.7 billion in funding out to 2030. This funding will support the delivery of the wide range of projects in our cities, towns and regions required for housing delivery, safeguarding public health and the environment and, crucially, providing the capacity required to address the housing crisis in this country. This investment will deliver significant improvements in our public water and wastewater services and support improved water supplies right across Ireland, as well as a range of programmes delivering improved water quality in our rivers, lakes and marine areas, thereby making a significant contribution to addressing Ireland's needs. Uisce Éireann has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. Therefore, the scope prioritisation and progression of individual projects are matters for Uisce Éireann, and are approved through its own internal governance structures. As Minister, I have no function in such matters. Uisce Éireann has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives.

Where does the responsibility lie? It needs to be clearer. There was a policy decision by the Department to zone these extra lands. In the case of Laois, as the Minister knows, substantial extra lands have been zoned in the last two weeks for an increase of over 8,000 houses, which will bring an increase of approximately 25% in the population in four or five years. They cannot all be in Portlaoise. I understand, and I support it to solve the housing crisis, that we need to strengthen villages and smaller towns to provide an option for people to live in a village structure where they are close to pubs, shops, community centres and schools. This means upgrading the water system. Uisce Éireann earmarked four villages in Laois for its small villages and towns scheme. One has been done in Ballyroan and I welcome this but those in Borris-in-Ossory, Ballinakill and Ballybrittas have not. They were all earmarked by Uisce Éireann. Somebody needs to intervene to tell Uisce Éireann that these need to be upgraded. In the case of Borris-in-Ossory, 160 extra houses are planned for extra land. There are 56 planned for Ballinakill and 437 for Graiguecullen. These cannot be provided without the infrastructure.

Deputy Stanley makes an important point. We are asking local authorities to rezone a significant amount of land to deliver additional housing. I encourage local authorities to complete this process. I am not happy with the time that many local authorities are taking in what is a housing crisis. I do not believe many local authorities have been treating it as such with the delays in delivering additional zoned land, which is essential to deliver homes and solve the housing crisis in this country so the houses can get built. In relation to villages, we have introduced developer-led infrastructure to allow developers to be able to provide wastewater facilities in our villages, which is absolutely crucial. Deputy Stanley rightly points out using over the shop units. Using existing services and regeneration in our towns are also crucial. With regard to Borris-in-Ossory, as Deputy Stanley is aware, Uisce Éireann commenced works to upgrade the Borris-in-Ossory wastewater treatment plant to support future growth and development, with works beginning in March 2026. This is a €4.1 million investment that will benefit homes. The works are expected to be completed in autumn 2027.

I appreciate what the Minister has said about the ones being provided by developers. The Tánaiste in reply to me said a lot will be provided by developers. It is okay if this can be done but the Minister and I know that Uisce Éireann is reluctant to take in charge infrastructure provided by developers. I can show the Minister an example in Laois which has been held up because of this. There has been a lot of back-and-forth with Uisce Éireann, local authorities and the Department on this. As far as I am aware, according to the most recent information I have, that nut has not been cracked yet. The cases of Graiguecullen, Borris-in-Ossory, where I welcome the progress, and Ballinakill are all in the red. They have been labelled as red by Uisce Éireann in terms of wastewater; in other words, no development can take place. The lands and the extra houses in each of these areas that I mentioned are in addition to what is already under construction or what is already zoned. We need to strengthen our villages and towns. We cannot put everybody in Portlaoise. The Minister and Minister of State who visited Laois know what is happening with private, public and local authority housebuilding. They saw the figures for zoning in the plan two weeks ago. Laois is not behind the curve but we need input from the Government and Uisce Éireann.

In terms of developer-led infrastructure, in any new process it will always be about who is going to be the first mover. When the first couple are delivered, others will see the pathway and move an awful lot more quickly. What we have said to Uisce Éireann, and it is doing this, is to work with local authorities and developers to try to get those first movers across the line as quickly as possible. This will then give confidence to other developers to follow suit. To be clear, these are not pilots - they are first movers. Any developer can move forward to provide these in local villages at the moment. That is happening with Uisce Éireann engaging with local authorities and developers. I am confident a number of these will come through. They have the support of the EPA. Deputy Stanley is right there is a reluctance in Uisce Éireann to take over legacy wastewater projects around the country, often because of the cost involved or legacy issues. These developer-led infrastructure projects have been worked out very carefully with the EPA and Uisce Éireann, which is why I believe there will be success and hand-holding at present to get the first few across the line.