The Government is to invest €125 million to improve water quality in rural areas.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Roche, said yesterday that the money would mainly go towards funding high priority upgrading to be undertaken this year in group water schemes.
The funding will allow for construction to start on new treatment plants for group schemes in Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Clare and Limerick, which between them will benefit over 13,000 households.
A further €11 million is to be provided by the Department of the Environment towards the running costs of group water schemes and the administration expenses of local authorities under the Rural Water Programme.
The Government is engaged in a major programme to upgrade water quality in rural areas following legal action by the European Commission in 2002. This action followed the identification of shortcomings in water quality by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Under the Plan for Rural Water Upgrading, which was drawn up in response to the court action, the Department is funding measures aimed at bringing group water schemes that rely on sources such as rivers, lakes and boreholes up to the standards set down in the EU Drinking Water Directive.
These measures include new water treatment plants for 240 group water schemes, improved water disinfectant equipment for 194 group schemes and the provision of connections to local authority public water supply networks for an additional 190 groups.
"The 2005 capital allocations are up almost €39 million, or 45 per cent, on last year's €86 million spend and continue an unbroken run of nine consecutive increases since 1997," the Minister said.
Mr Roche announced the €125 million investment at the publication of his Department's 2005 Rural Water Programme in Castlebar where he opened a new Regional Training Centre for local authority roads and water services personnel and group water scheme managers from the Connacht region.
Around one third of all rural households receive their water supply from group schemes, which are generally community owned and operated. Around 46,000 rural households are supplied by group schemes which depend on rivers, lakes and boreholes. However, many of these have been found not to meet drinking water requirements.
"I am determined that lack of funding will not be a constraint to bringing privately-sourced group schemes up to the drinking water standards," the Minister said.
He added that projects currently underway would produce quality drinking water for almost 40,000 rural households.
Rural water schemes: funding allocation
Carlow €3,640,000
Cavan €13,650,000
Clare €10,350,000
Cork North €2,270,000
Cork South €2,682,000
Cork West €2,350,000
Donegal €2,820,000
Galway €14,033,000
Kerry €3,220,000
Kildare €1,918,000
Kilkenny €2,000,000
Laois €2,815,000
Leitrim €4,170,000
Limerick €7,500,000
Longford €2,500,000
Louth €680,000
Mayo €17,500,000
Meath €2,075,000
Monaghan €5,270,000
North Tipperary €1,600,000
Offaly €1,543,400
Roscommon €3,200,000
Sligo €7,050,000
South Tipperary €1,110,000
Waterford €950,000
Westmeath €1,361,000
Wexford €2,317,000
Wicklow €4,391,000
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TOTAL: €124,965,400
