Tipperary TD Jackie Cahill is calling on Irish Water to “pull up socks and start taking the treatment of wastewater seriously”.
Last week the Fianna Fáil deputy asked Dáil questions of Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien regarding the number of villages and towns which are still without wastewater treatment plants.
Deputy Cahill was informed that the department does not have a database or record of such information.
EPA report on waterways
Deputy Cahill has said today (Thursday November 12): “It did not come as a surprise to hear today the findings of the Environmental Protection Agency’s [EPA] report that was highly critical of Irish Water.
“The report found that 35 towns and villages across the state have raw sewage flowing into waterways.”
The former President of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) added: “It is unacceptable for the department not to have on the ground information in relation to this issue, especially when so many other industries have, in recent years, acted to prevent this in their respective sectors.
“Last week I submitted two parliamentary questions to the Minster for Housing in relation to a register of Irish Water’s wastewater treatment plants. I discovered that the department does not have a register of wastewater plants around the country and that this is within the remit of Irish Water alone.
How are local authorities supposed to do their job properly, in the best interest of the public and our shared environment, if they do not even know where their plants are on a localised basis?
Deputy Cahill referred to a statement made by Director of the EPA Dr. Tom Ryan who said the EPA had identified 113 locations around the country where Irish Water needs to act immediately to tackle serious wastewater issues in order to protect public health and the environment.
Register of wastewater plants
“The lack of a register means that local authorities cannot know what scale of an issue they are dealing with. I have heard reports of a significant number of urban centres in Tipperary without such plants, with wastewater flowing straight into waterways,” added the TD.
“There are sectors and industries the length and breath of our country that have invested major sums of money into improving infrastructure in order to treat wastewater.
Here we have Irish Water with moral obligations to our society and natural environment to play its part in preventing the pollution of our rivers and waterways.
“I know of villages and towns on riverbanks all around the country without wastewater treatment plants. The department does not have a register of these. Significant investment is needed to prevent the pollution of our waterways and it is time for Irish Water to get to work on this,” deputy Cahill concluded.