Investment in water and sewerage services has increased by more than 30 per cent in real terms, from £110 million in 1994 to just over £150 million this year, according to a Department of the Environment report. The bulk of the expenditure under the EU-funded National Development Plan is earmarked for major sewage treatment plants to eliminate effluent discharges into the marine environment.
By far the largest scheme is the £200 million Dublin Bay project, which involves upgrading the Ringsend sewage treatment plant to meet the requirements of the EU directive on municipal waste water treatment.
Much lower sums have been allocated for improved sewage treatment facilities in the inland towns, despite mounting evidence that their discharges of untreated or partially-treated sewage are causing serious pollution problems - for example, in the Shannon catchment.
The report shows that only 68 per cent of the Republic's population is connected to public sewers. Slightly more than 15 per cent of sewage effluent is discharged with no treatment, 35 per cent receives primary treatment, 47 per cent secondary and less than 3 per cent full tertiary treatment.
Addressing water quality problems is just one of the four main criteria used by the Department in deciding on investment priorities. The others are safeguarding public health and safety, complying with statutory requirements (such as the EU directive) and promoting economic development.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, said the EU was providing 75 per cent of the funding for water and sewerage services under the programme, mainly from its Cohesion Fund, which targets environmental improvements. Last year alone, 24 schemes costing more than £124 million were completed.
Some 60 schemes were to start this year, including Dundalk Main Drainage, East Waterford Water, Navan Sewerage and the first phase of Cork Main Drainage, while construction work continues on a further 60, including Tuam and Lough Mask Water, and sewerage schemes in Clonmel, Drogheda and Killarney.
The investment programme is set to expand over the next few years, with an additional 50 schemes - including the mammoth Dublin Bay Project, the second phase of Cork Main Drainage, costing upwards of £65 million, and the "core elements" of Limerick Main Drainage, with a price-tag of £80 million.
Mr Dempsey pointed out that there was a strong focus in the investment programme on water conservation measures, particularly in Dublin, where an independent report by the French consultants Generale des Eaux found that up to 40 per cent of its drinking water was literally going down the drain.
The Dublin water conservation scheme, costing £32 million, would save about 22 million gallons of water a day when it is completed in 1999, representing about half of the water currently being lost through leaks. This is regarded as better value than investing in new plant.
Other water conservation schemes, such as those planned for Cork and Limerick, will also start this year, and Mr Dempsey said further funding would provide for water conservation projects over the next few years - mainly for cities and towns with an ageing distribution network.
The report does not refer directly to the continuing dispute over the proposed Mutton Island sewage treatment plant in Galway, which the EU Commission has refused to finance on environmental grounds.
