Richard O'Donoghue: Foynes wastewater plan endangers Yacht Club

Thank you, Comhairle. And before I start my latest questions today, I'd like to give my sympathies to the Fawcett Circus family on the burial today of Marian Fawcett. And their circus has been in existence for 138 years this year, where they have been given, going around the country and internationally doing their circus. And they come to Limerick every year, and they've always, every year, given out a charity day where we have people coming in for charity. So, on behalf of myself and Independent Ireland, I give my respects to the Fawcett family. To my latest questions, my latest questions today, Taoiseach, is about fines and about Aoisge Aran. For decades, fines have been looking for a sewerage system. Fines. F-O-Y-E-N-E-S. Count till Limerick. The port. Thank you. So, in fines, we're getting a new, upgraded sewerage system, which has been waiting for decades. And I welcome that. However, the problem I have with this is, the system that they are now proposing only deals with secondary waste. Secondary. So, basically, to put it in layman's terms, it's removed the solids and let the rest go to source. Now Taoiseach, as you're a person that loves to go swimming, and you often say that you go out on New Year's Day to go swimming, where this discharge of this is in fines is the Yacht Club. And I see people smiling across the hall here at me. This is health and safety issue, Minister. This is waste going back into the Shannon. Health and safety issue where a Yacht Club is next to it. And all they're going to do is remove the solids. And I welcome all the bench over here, count till Limerick, to fines. And I welcome you to go for a swim in it. That'll tell me how much you'd actually think of it then, when we bring it to source to yourselves. Why aren't they putting in a tutorial system that removes all waste and treats it before it goes back to source? And if you look at the title system, which has been investigated by people, professors in their field, shows that the waste then goes off. And two hours later, it returns back to where it first originated from. But all this information is being hidden by government, from government, when it's clearing or going putting in this system. So we're talking about waste of money. Why can't we put in a proper system for health and safety guidelines for everyone? So that's the question I have for you. Thank you for raising one very important issue. And we've made a lot of progress in the country in terms of wastewater treatment facilities. I'm always of a view myself that where possible it should be tertiary and not secondary. I'm not aware of the specifics of the actual proposal in terms of the specific wastewater treatment facility that's been earmarked for fines. What I would do is I will check with Ishka Airden on this. It may not be a waste of money, too, because I presume you can design and construct with a view to adding as well. So let's not look a gift horse two on one level. We do need treatment plants and more of them. And particularly if planning has been secured and all of that, we just need to get infrastructure in place. But I would note there may be funding issues, although there may have been cost issues originally, although we have substantially increased the allocation to Ishka Water now and into the foreseeable future through the National Development Plan. So I will ask, I think optimally you are correct. You're absolutely correct. Tertiary is the optimal way to go in terms of quality of water and particularly into the river, because of course that has implications for ecology, implications for biodiversity, as well as human health also. And so we will respond to your query. I will seek a response from Ishka Airden in terms of the specifics of the proposal there. I appreciate you looking into this matter. The concerns that fines have also is the location and they welcome the system, but the location they're actually going to put it in is actually going to stop the future proofing of fines. And anyone that knows fines, when you go on the west of fines, it's up all into the hilly ground. And on the Limerick side of fines, it's all flat ground or where they are proposing to put in the system, where they're going to pump it up to the system and then let it come back. Gravity flow is a perfect place for infrastructure, for housing of the future, because it's going to limit the amount of housing that can be put in the likes of fines. And we're looking at fines being connected by motorway by 2030. So it's going to be a vibrant place to come to. So again, a bit of forward planning, all they have to do is go across the road into government-owned lands and put the system in, which will be on the side of the port side, which again makes sense and allow for infrastructure such as housing in the future going forward. Thank you. Could I just say I want to also pay tribute to Marion Fawcett and the Fawcett family for their extraordinary contribution to Irish life. I remember as a young child attending Fawcett's circus. Some might say I learned a few tricks myself through that experience. But our thoughts and prayers are with them on this side for the family and we thank what they do. Could I say in terms of the wastewater treatment plant, if I may, from what I see here, it's an extensive works that they're now engaging in. I mean, it's a fine storage scheme including a new wastewater treatment plant, 3.5 kilometres of new pipelines to convey wastewater to and from the new treatment plant site, an upgraded terminal pumping station with storm storage and extension to existing marine outfall will be constructed. So it's fairly significant in and of itself. I would make the point, once you get into location, you must know, there may be people foreign again at a given location, but someone from an objective engineering aspect on wider planning have to decide the location. Thank you. I know myself with the wastewater treatment plant, one vote decided on it, but no one has complained 20 years later. There was a lot of heat around that decision. Thank you. And that concludes leaders questions.