Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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Newport is a beautiful town on the west coast of Mayo, nestled in the stunning Clew Bay. However, Newport has no wastewater treatment plant and as a result, raw sewage is being pumped into Clew Bay on a daily basis. It is affecting the ecosystem and fish stocks. It is creating foul odour and preventing housing development, economic development and, of course, recreational activities for the town. The lack of a wastewater treatment plant has robbed the town of its potential over decades - the potential for housing development, economic development and tourism. It is a beautiful town, an absolutely stunning town, yet so much has been stolen from it. I recently spoke to a member of a kayaking club who can no longer engage in water sports in the area, such is the damage that is being done for the lack of a treatment facility.

The people of Newport and the committee have been promised a wastewater treatment plant for decades. The most recent promise was that the wastewater treatment plant was due to be delivered in 2021 but that failed to materialise. According to Uisce Éireann, the current state of progress is stage 2, a preliminary business case. I understand Uisce Éireann has yet to be granted a licence to survey the coastline in the region for a suitable location for this site. It is incredible that after so many decades and so many promises Uisce Éireann still has no licence to engage in surveys of the area.

If this is entirely left up to Uisce Éireann, will it just be a commercial decision? For example, will Uisce Éireann go to the bigger towns where it can recoup its investment through water connection charges and business water charges? If that is the case, the Minister of State needs to intervene to ensure Newport gets the treatment plant it deserves.

I have raised this with Taoiseach who acknowledged that there should be progress updates and that people should know what is happening. I met the committee recently and its members have no idea. There is no transparency on this now. We understand that this project may take time, but equally we must give people transparency as to what is happening. We cannot get to 2030 and find that it has been pushed back by another decade, which is effectively what has happened heretofore. I ask the Minister of State to engage with Uisce Éireann. He needs to ensure that the people and the committee receive regular updates on the wastewater treatment plant in Newport. It is crucial that this happens.

Out of respect for the people of Newport, it is only right and proper that we should engage with them in a way they deserve.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Lawless for raising this important issue. I will reply on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Browne. This matter has been raised by Oireachtas colleagues of the Deputy's from Mayo, notably the Minister of State, Deputy Alan Dillon, who is here. It is obviously a matter of huge concern for the public representatives and the people of Newport.

Deputy Lawless will appreciate that the operation of the public water supply, together with operational issues locally, are matters for Uisce Éireann, which has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels.

The Minister, Deputy Browne, made inquiries with Uisce Éireann and has been informed that in December 2024, Uisce Éireann took over 50 areas where raw sewage was discharging untreated into the environment. Many of these areas required complex projects to plan and to deliver, and three of them were in Killala, Belmullet and Newport in County Mayo. Given the scale of the challenges faced by Uisce Éireann to address this situation in 50 locations and the level of investment that would be needed to address the discharges, Uisce Éireann needed to prioritise the areas with the largest volume of sewage being discharged and having the biggest impact on the environment. Since 2014, Uisce Éireann has built new wastewater infrastructure for 34 towns and villages across the country, ending the discharge of raw sewage into the environment. In addition to the 34 completed sites, it currently has seven locations under construction across the country. This means 41 out of the 50 locations either have brand new infrastructure in place or currently have projects under construction. There are plans for the rest, prioritising the areas where it can make the biggest impacts first. Two projects have been completed in Mayo, in Belmullet and Killala, and work is ongoing to progress Newport.

Newport currently has two historical septic tanks that do not provide effective treatment for the wastewater generated in the town. Uisce Éireann plans to decommission these septic tanks and build a new wastewater treatment plant and a marine outfall for treated wastewater. This will ensure that Newport complies with the urban wastewater treatment directive while at the same time allowing the economic growth of the town. The Newport wastewater treatment plant is currently at preliminary business case stage 2, which Deputy Lawless referenced, where Uisce Éireann will develop a shortlist of solutions, identify the preferred option and calculate an estimated cost. A significant amount of data gathering, surveys and assessments are required to support the various consenting processes. Detailed assessments of existing outfalls and marine modelling of receiving waters are also needed to meet the planning requirements for projects such as Newport.

A licence is required to carry out the surveys needed to develop a marine model. Uisce Éireann applied to the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, in December 2024 to obtain a licence, known as a maritime usage licence, MUL, to carry out the survey work. Uisce Éireann has had ongoing engagement with MARA to progress the licence application. Once a licence is granted, Uisce Éireann can then carry out the work to complete the preliminary business case and provide better clarity on the likely timescale for completion of this project.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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I appreciate that Uisce Éireann has made progress nationally. There is no question about that, but my question is specific to Newport. That is why I am raising this issue. What I really want to know is whether the Minister will engage with Uisce Éireann to provide regular updates in relation to it? As I said, we cannot arrive at a situation in 2030 where no progress has been made. This is really important. As of yet, Uisce Éireann has no licence for this. When is that decision due? Will the Minister commit to ensuring regular updates for the people of Newport? I appreciate there has been progress in other parts of the country but I have a concern. If this is left entirely to Uisce Éireann, will the commercial aspect of this be factored into the decision-making around what project happens next? Newport is a small town and if that is the case, then clearly Uisce Éireann will invest in towns where it can recoup the investment made.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I again thank the Deputy for raising this issue. As I have said, the Newport wastewater treatment plant is currently at preliminary business case stage 2. Uisce Éireann will develop a shortlist of solutions identifying preferred options and will calculate estimated costs. A significant amount of data gathering, surveys and assessments are required to support various consenting processes. A licence is required to carry out the surveys needed to develop the maritime model. Uisce Éireann applied to the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority in December 2024 to obtain a licence, known as a maritime usage licence, to carry out the necessary survey works. There is ongoing engagement with Uisce Éireann and MARA to progress the application. MARA carries out its work as a statutory body and I would expect that Uisce Éireann is in contact with MARA to look to progress the licence application itself. Once the licence is granted Uisce Éireann can then carry out the work to complete the preliminary business case and can provide better clarity on the likely timescale to complete this project.

There are two further elements. The officials in my Department did follow up with Uisce Éireann today to see exactly where this was at. We have been told that it applied in December. We pressed the importance of progressing this project. Certainly the residents of Newport will be kept updated, as will the public representatives, as to any further updates we get from Uisce Éireann on this project. I suggest the Deputy keep in contact with the Minister, Deputy Browne, and the Department to see precisely where it is at, but we will keep up our engagement with Uisce Éireann on this matter for the people of Newport.