Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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Since being elected, wastewater treatment has been a recurring issue raised by communities across Cork South-West. I am focusing on the issue of the wastewater treatment plant in Ballydehob this morning but almost every area of west Cork is feeling the pressure from crumbling water infrastructure. From an environmental and health perspective, the very least people should expect is the proper treatment of wastewater and household sewage but years of underinvestment in waster infrastructure has left communities and areas exposed to pollution. Ballydehob's wastewater treatment plant is in urgent need of an upgrade. Despite the name, it is little more than a basic septic tank. It is not fit for purpose. Over the past ten years, it has caused massive ongoing pollution problems in Ballydehob Bay, which is within the Roaringwater Bay and Islands special area of conservation. Its habitats are protected under the EU habitats directive and it has a diverse variety of marine life and seabird colonies which need to be protected. However, sewage effluent can frequently be seen in the lagoon, quay and estuary beside the village.

An upgrade to this plant has been a long time coming. In 2009, Cork County Council and the EPA concurred that the existing septic tank was not appropriate and an upgrade was needed. The project was included in the water services investment programme at an estimated cost of €683,000 and works were to be completed by October 2012. That never materialised. In 2014, responsibility for the plant was handed over to Uisce Éireann which was granted a licence by the EPA on the condition that upgrades to the plant would be completed by the end of December 2019. Emission level value tests in the area have been falling consistently for nearly ten years. It has resulted in serious observable pollution in the harbour and estuary and a stench from the plant. All of this occurs in one of the most beautiful areas around Ballydehob which is popular with locals and tourists. Overflows are a frequent issue for the site yet Uisce Éireann remains insistent that the overflows are somehow compliant with the Department's criteria despite acknowledging that overflows from the site are completely unmonitored, the number of overflows occurring is completely unknown and it has no idea what the volume of sewage discharged by the overflow is. It seems incredible that with this level of information, Uisce Éireann is willing to tick the compliance box. The reality is dirty water and raw sewage can regularly be seen flowing from the septic tank directly into the estuary even in dry weather.

It is October 2024, 15 years after the need to upgrade this plant was identified and we do not even have the beginnings of a plan. No works have been carried out despite the council having completed detailed drawings and plans for the upgrade. The proposed new plant was never built and Uisce Éireann continues to operate in flagrant breach of the terms of its licence. Despite the EPA's best efforts, there is no movement on the issue. We all understand the shortfalls in funding, however, currently, it does not even acknowledge there is an issue on the site. Residents in Ballydehob have had enough. The community council set up a petition calling for the upgrade of the site which is available to sign in the post office and in most of the other businesses in the village. Will the Minister of State ensure the upgrade of the Ballydehob wastewater treatment is included in Uisce Éireann's 2025-29 investment programme?

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this critically important issue. The supply of public water and the provision of water services in general are matters for Uisce Éireann in the first instance. Uisce Éireann has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local level. The Minister has no function regarding Uisce Éireann's specific operations although I note the points the Deputy raised about the 2025-29 plan.

The Environmental Protection Agency is the environmental regulator of Uisce Éireann and is responsible for issuing and enforcing authorisations for waste discharges. However, I asked Uisce Éireann for an update on the Deputy's behalf and have been informed that the wastewater collected in the Uisce Éireann sewer network in Ballydehob receives primary treatment in the Ballydehob wastewater treatment plant before being discharged into Roaringwater Bay. Primary treatment is not sufficient under current and what will be more onerous regulations into the future. The current status of Roaringwater Bay receiving water is good and complies with water framework directive objectives but I accept the Deputy's point that it is unacceptable. I am informed by Uisce Éireann that environmental impacts on receiving waters were considered when selecting projects for inclusion in the current capital investment programme 2019-24 and the Ballydehob wastewater treatment plant was not included. However, Uisce Éireann further informs me that the Ballydehob wastewater treatment plant project is currently at early strategic assessment stage, which involves the Uisce Éireann team developing the project rationale and objectives, project outcomes, a long list of potential options and an indicative range of costs.

Following this, it will again be considered for inclusion in the next Uisce Éireann capital investment plan. I will ask that it be included in the 2025-29 plan. I understand there is to be public consultation for that plan.

The EPA has been categorical in respect of the need for Uisce Éireann to ramp up and speed up its response to issues like that in Ballydehob in sites across the country where there are raw discharges. Thankfully, it has made significant progress and there has been a significant reduction, as well as tertiary treatment, in many plants across the country. There have been decades of underinvestment. Thankfully, the Government has addressed that in terms of providing significant funding for Uisce Éireann, most recently in budget 2025.

Even as I outline this to the Deputy today, in terms of project options it could take a considerable amount of time before a detailed plan and application are developed and the plant is fully upgraded. I agree that the situation is unacceptable. It is a special area of conservation. I am familiar with the area, as a frequent visitor. It is important that projects like this are prioritised, fast-tracked and included in the next operational plan for Uisce Éireann.

As I said, there is a recast of the urban wastewater treatment directive, which will place even more onerous targets on Uisce Éireann to ramp up investment. The EPA has also said delivery needs to be moving at a much more rapid pace. I will take this issue back to Uisce Éireann and ask that it be included in the 2025-29 capital plan.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate the reply and accept that there has been an infrastructure deficit over years, which means that Uisce Éireann is playing catch-up. Issues like this are concrete and need to be addressed. In addition, this case illustrates how communities do not feel heard. The local community and the EPA have raised concerns about this plant for nearly 15 years, but nothing has been done. It is nice to hear that the Minister of State will take the necessary steps. This is affecting the local community and is causing damage to a special area of conservation.

We also need greater transparency around how projects are prioritised as funding becomes available. I mentioned that this is a problem across my constituency. In Shannonvale, near Clonakilty, there have been issues for years with a septic tank overflowing into a green space in the middle of the village. The heart of the village is now, essentially, closed off as a result. It is appalling for the local community that this issue has not been resolved. I do not understand how it has not been prioritised. We need urgent investment in infrastructure and wastewater throughout west Cork. There are housing development developments in Clonakilty, Kinsale, Dunmanway and the entire Beara Peninsula which have been stalled because of a lack of sufficient water infrastructure.

The primary treatment the Minister of State has said will happen in Ballydehob is welcome. As he said, it is not enough. I thank him for agreeing to ask Uisce Éireann to include this project in the 2025-29 investment programme. He said it takes time to assess these things. However, this issue has been well assessed going back to 2012. I do not think it needs to take a significant level of time and consultation. The plan has been in place since then but has not been acted on. I ask the Minister of State to keep us updated on any reply from Uisce Éireann. That would be greatly appreciated by the people of Ballydehob.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I will do so. While I appreciate plans have been drawn up in the past, going back ten or 15 years, as I said the standards are such now and into the future, as the recast takes place, that the directive will be in force by the end of 2025. Member states will have to have it transposed by 2030, as far as I understand. That will create quite onerous targets in terms of not just tertiary but fourth stage treatment, which is only right. That changes the parameters in terms of assessment and the development of a new plant. It has to be future-proofed in order to meet the new targets and demands under the directive.

It is critically important that Uisce Éireann moves at speed and pace with plants like Ballydehob. As the Deputy said, there have been significant challenges in west Cork. It is important that the investment takes place. We are playing catch-up; I will take another question from Deputy Connolly on the situation in Galway. These issues are being addressed and Uisce Éireann is making significant progress. We are addressing a situation of decades of underinvestment in our water and wastewater infrastructure. It is not acceptable. The Government has made significant investment. We had the 2021-25 commitments of almost €6 billion in capital investment and €4.5 billion will be voted Exchequer funding. It is important.

Communities across the country and the EPA have said that we need to scale up investment and things need to happen apace. These communities are being constrained from developing or growing and receiving waters are important for our biodiversity.