Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Locals have been raising with me concerns about pollution in the River Sullane downstream from the town of Macroom. There are two particular issues of concern to locals, namely the pollution itself and what appears to be the authorities’ lack of interest in pursuing the polluter. For some time, locals have been raising concerns with different authorities about foul discharges into the Sullane, smells, visible pollution, things floating in the water, cloudy water and so on. This does not just happen when there is flooding; it happens at various times. Fishers have told me that they have experienced these issues over a number of years as well. It is likely that this situation is what contributed to Uisce Éireann’s decision to build a new plant. Thankfully, that construction is under way. It will take much of two years to build but is well under way at this stage and could eventually deal with the pollution. In the meantime, though, the pollution appears to be continuing.

Concerns were raised with Uisce Éireann in April, May and June, but there were no responses until today just before the matter was to be raised on the floor of the Dáil. That response blamed recent flooding events without ever acknowledging the issues that had been repeatedly raised by many people. Locals are asking questions but feel like they are being fobbed off, not being recognised and not being taken seriously on this issue.

There are concerns about the authorities’ lack of interest. The EPA appears to be tolerating the apparent situation at Uisce Éireann and not pursuing a prosecution of the latter. Locals are asking reasonable questions about how this is possible. They look over the road to Ballingeary where no prosecution seems to have been taken against Uisce Éireann over sewage discharges. They look up the road to Freemount where there was a recent fish kill. Surely the polluter will be pursued there. People are left wondering why this soft-touch approach is being taken. If a farmer or business were polluting, that person or business would undoubtedly be pursued through the courts and convicted, but there seems to be a more comfortable relationship with Uisce Éireann when it is the polluter. How can this be explained to farmers, who feel that the full rigours of the law will be applied to them if they pollute but see pollution being tolerated elsewhere? It should not be tolerated. Every polluter should be treated the same.

There clearly is pollution and there has been for some time. It needs to be dealt with. The polluter needs to feel the full rigours of the various authorities to ensure that it deals with this pollution and does not allow it to happen in other areas.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Moynihan for raising the issue of pollution in the River Sullane near Macroom. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Brien.

The Deputy will appreciate that the operation of the Macroom wastewater treatment plant is a matter for Uisce Éireann, which, since 1 January 2014, has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. In turn, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, as the environmental regulator, is responsible for setting quality standards and enforcing compliance with the wastewater treatment directive.

The Minister has made inquiries with Uisce Éireann and is informed that the recent incidents at the Macroom wastewater treatment plant were caused by a combination of heavy rainfall, to which the Deputy alluded, and equipment failures. Remedial actions have been undertaken and Uisce Éireann is monitoring the situation. Uisce Éireann has notified the EPA and Inland Fisheries Ireland of all incidents accordingly.

The Macroom wastewater treatment plant is currently undergoing a substantial upgrade worth in excess of €21 million. This will address the existing wastewater infrastructure, which is regarded as overloaded and outdated. These works are expected to take 24 months. With work starting in November 2023, the project is scheduled for completion at the end of 2025. The required work involves the decommissioning of the existing plant and structure and the construction of new plant, including a connection to the existing outfall pipe to safely discharge treated wastewater into the River Sullane. The upgrade works will bring the treatment plant back into compliance with the wastewater discharge licence and mitigate the effects of flooding. Further details on this upgrade project are available on Uisce Éireann's website. Given that the Deputy is from the locality, he knows them very well, probably better than Uisce Éireann.

The Deputy raised two issues, the first of which was that there was pollution that had been ongoing for some time, that locals were concerned about it and that they felt they were being fobbed off. The Deputy also spoke about polluters or, to use the correct terminology, potential polluters. I will bring the Deputy's concerns to the Minister.

I have no doubt that the ongoing development at the Macroom wastewater treatment plant, which is undergoing a substantial upgrade, should make a significant difference. Reading between the lines, when there is an old plant and a great deal of wastewater and smells after heavy rainfall, it is difficult for residents. The upgrade work will bring the treatment plant back into compliance with the wastewater discharge licence and mitigate the effects of flooding. For those living in the Macroom area and close to the River Sullane, this cannot happen soon enough.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Táim ag tarraingt aníos an cheist seo faoi thruailliú san Súlán i Maigh Chromtha. Tá go leor de mhuintir na háite tar éis an cheist seo a tharraingt aníos linn. Faigheann siad an boladh agus feiceann siad an truailliú san abhainn agus tá siad buartha nach bhfuil Uisce Éireann nó an EPA ag dul i ngleic leis an bhfadhb. Feicimid go bhfuil a ghnó idir lámha acu ach, idir an dá linn, tá truailliú leanúnach ann agus tá sé ann le roinnt mhaith blianta. Tá an cheist seo tarraingthe aníos arís is arís eile ag muintir na háite, leis an EPA agus le hUisce Éireann, agus braitheann siad nach bhfuil an EPA dáiríre mar gheall air agus nach bhfuil sé ag tabhairt faoin dream atá ag déanamh an truaillithe.

This needs to be brought to a head. It is positive that there is ongoing work and that a new plant is being put in place. It is likely to resolve issues, but in the meantime, there is pollution and there is a polluter who appears to be walking away from it. That is very much at odds with other situations around where if a farmer was a polluter or if it was in a commercial enterprise, they would feel the full rigours of the law, and rightly so. One polluter should not be treated differently from another polluter. There should be convictions followed up on polluters on the Sullane as we are seeing here in Macroom.

I note the point that the Minister of State makes about the recent incident and about the likelihood that it is related to flooding or recent heavy rains. It is much more than that. That is just a cop-out or a fob-off by the same authorities. We know this has been going on for some time and it is not just about heavy rainfall. If a plant is not operating, the operator should be held accountable, and if the environment is being polluted, the full rigours of the law should be on the polluter.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy and I will certainly bring his concerns back to the Minister, who has overall responsibility in these challenges. As the Deputy knows, the programme for Government is committed to funding Uisce Éireann's capital investment plan for water and wastewater infrastructure on a multi-annual basis. There will be record levels of investment in water services by Uisce Éireann in the period 2021 to 2025, with a commitment of almost €6 billion in capital investment, of which more than €4.5 billion would be Voted Exchequer funding for domestic water services.

Indeed the Deputy has acknowledged the fact that work is under way on the substantial upgrade of the Macroom wastewater treatment plant, worth in excess of €21 million, and in the long term this should resolve the issues. I know the Deputy is more concerned with the short-term issues at the moment, the fact there is pollution and that he has genuine concerns. I will certainly relay those back to the Minister.