Tuesday 11 February 2025
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Email : johnpaul.oshea@oireachtas.ie

O’Shea back new measures to support water quality and services in rural communities

O’Shea back new measures to support water quality and services in rural communities

A range of funding measures being supported under the new Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme for 2019-2021 have been backed by North Cork Fine Gael Councillor John Paul O’Shea to improve water quality and services in local rural communities. 

Cllr. O’Shea’s colleague, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Eoghan Murphy TD, announced a new investment programme for water services in rural areas in February. The Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme is to run from 2019 to 2021.  

“Capital funding of €23 million has been provided in 2019, an increase of €3 million from the existing programme which finished in 2018,” Cllr. O’Shea said. “A total of €75 million has been committed under the National Development Plan to 2021. These measures have been announced by my colleague at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Minister Eoghan Murphy TD, following a review examining wider investment needs relating to rural water services.” 

The measures include Source Protection (Group Water Scheme Sector), which is aimed at protecting the raw water source of existing group water schemes, thus contributing to the safety of water users through the ability of the scheme to sustainably achieve compliance with the water quality parameters of the Drinking Water Regulations on a consistent long-term basis. 

The Public health compliance (Group Water Scheme Sector) measure is aimed at improving water quality in existing group schemes, through upgrading of their treatment facilities, so that the group schemes can sustainably achieve compliance with the parameters of the Drinking Water Regulation on a consistent long-term basis. 

The enhancement of existing schemes including water conservation (Group Water Scheme Sector) is a measure to support projects to make existing group water schemes more efficient in their operation (e.g. water conservation and network upgrades, including storage) in order to ensure good water quality on a consistent sustainable basis. 

The New Group Water Schemes measure supports social and economic development in rural towns and villages and their hinterlands by providing new group water schemes where public water supply schemes or individual/private wells are not the most viable option. 

The Transition of Existing Group Water Schemes and Group Sewerage Schemes to the Public (Irish Water) Water Sector measure enables existing group water schemes and existing group sewerage schemes, where they wish to do so and with the agreement of Irish Water, to transition to the public water sector (Irish Water). 

The Community Connections (Water and Wastewater) measure facilitates the continued expansion of the coverage of piped water supplies and central wastewater collection systems by extension off the public (Irish Water) network.