SENIOR OFFICIALS in Clare County Council have said it is “premature” to say which towns and villages will be benefitting from a new €50m scheme to improve the wastewater of rural villages.
Broadford had been earmarked as the leading contender to be the first Clare area included in the scheme however senior engineer in the water services section of the local authority, Cyril Feeney has said “it is a bit premature” to say which parts of the county will be put forward for inclusion.
On Monday, Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG), Cllr Shane Talty (FF) and Cllr Bill Chambers (FF) submitted a motion to the Council seeking clarity on the selection process for towns and villages in the scheme. “Wastewater infrastructure is long overdue and is holding back economic and social development in many rural towns and villages of Clare particularly in Doolin, Carrigaholt, Cooraclare and Broadford”.
Feeney in response clarified that the €50m scheme will run from 2022 to 2025 with local authorities to submit their bids prior to September 15th. An expert panel will judge the applications based on impact on climate change, budgetary proposal, national policy objectives, community and stakeholder engagement, readiness of the project, capacity to deliver the project and estimated timeframes.
Cllr Garrihy outlined that he listed Doolin first in the motion as it was in his area and “one of our most nationally recognised villages and visited areas”. He warned of “negative futures if wastewater treatment plants are not provided”. He appealed to the Council to give criteria on the targets and measures required for areas to put themselves in the frame and to become shovel ready.
Further clarity and transparency must be provided, Cllr Talty stressed. “Realistically it might deliver ten systems across the country,” he predicted of the €50m scheme. “It is like looking for the rules of a football match, if you have an idea what the rules are you will know how to play the match. We want to know what are the criteria so we can fly our flag the highest,” Cllr Joe Killeen (FF) explained.
Carrigaholt’s case was put forward by Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) who quipped he was “delighted” to see it had moved to number two on the list. “We are waiting since 1957, Mayo are waiting since 1951 and they are all talking about it, nobody is talking about Carrigaholt”. He referenced a 2015 feasibility study “which ticked all the boxes” but said despite 25,000 annual visitors nothing has been done, “We have our plans going forward but I don’t like this thing of waiting three or four years, we want it done in year one”.
Over fifty settlements need the proper wastewater infrastructure, Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) flagged. “We have to start somewhere and continue up the line, we would all love the 50 of them to get infrastructure in the future but that is not a reality. Maybe decide by alphabetical order of the ones listed today,” he remarked with a smile which was greeted with a round of applause by Cllr Pat Burke (FG). Boxing clever needs to be the approach in light of “many false daws,” Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) believed.
While Minister for Local Government, Darragh O’Brien (FF) announced the scheme, Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) observed it is “a strong possibility” he won’t be there to progress the scheme. The €50m was “miniscule” when it came to helping the 52 towns and villages in Clare, the Shannon representative stated, “as the Gospel says who will you save”. Development levies need to be considered to fast-track the progress for the rest of the county, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) suggested.
Local authorities had “no control on the provision of wastewater treatment” up until the announcement, Council Chief Executive, Pat Dowling outlined. Each local authority has been asked to demonstrate two projects are suitable, he confirmed. “It is far from perfect but it is better than where we were two years ago. If we demonstrate in Clare very effectively with one or two projects, we’ve got to show our demonstration of this new programme is an outstanding success in Co Clare, then and only then can we achieve more funding on a multi-annual basis. We’re beginning to regain a bit of control, this is not a big programme to fund the 50 settlements. It is a small start to a very big problem”. He flagged that a capital fund to aid the projects is likely to be required by the Council.
Agreement was voiced by Feeney who labelled it “a good step forward but we’ve a long way to go”. He was of the understanding that “many schemes” would be announced by the Minister at the end of this year. “The costs will range depending on the complexity and scope of each scheme. We won’t be able to provide a network going to the extremities of each village, the scheme is quite clear on that,” he highlighted.
