Éamon Ó Cuív demands action on rural wastewater and water access
Éamon Ó Cuív spoke on 28 June 2023 about municipal and private wastewater systems, rural water access and farm waste, arguing for immediate, practical investment and policy changes. He urged boosted funding, one-off grants for defective private systems, separation of storm water from sewage, greater support for septic-served villages and slurry processing for biogas.
Municipal wastewater failures
He said municipal wastewater systems are a major cause of pollution and are currently inadequate. He pointed to storm water entering sewage systems as a key problem that causes overflows in heavy rains, citing new and existing systems in Clifton and Ring's End as examples of where systems cannot cope.
Private house wastewater and grant eligibility
He criticised a recent media report that he said was misleading because it relied on a risk-based survey and was not representative of all houses. He highlighted that for 500,000 private houses the state spends less than a million a year on wastewater supports and argued that people with defective systems should be eligible for a one-off grant and able to request inspections.
Funding for small towns and villages on sewers
He named numerous small towns and villages served by sewers and said the current money for new systems is too small. He called for at least a tenfold increase in funding to make a meaningful difference across towns and villages currently on sewers.
Rural water supply policy and connections
He argued that around ten percent of houses depend on private supplies of varying quality and urged the state to treat public water supply as a basic necessity similar to broadband and electricity. He proposed that every house should be offered the option to connect to a public water supply unless already on an approved group water scheme, noting the Irish language committee's willingness to help maintain new connections to existing Irish airing pipes.
Tackling farm waste and slurry processing
He urged action on farm waste, recommending the processing of slurry to produce biogas as a renewable fuel and a pellet by-product that causes less damage when spread on land than raw slurry. He framed these measures as practical steps that, if implemented together, would improve rivers and lakes and reduce pollution.
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The first thing we have to recognise is that one of the biggest causes of pollution are municipal waste water systems. They are totally inadequate. It is much easier to sell the idea to a lot of people of investing money over the ground than under the ground. But we need to radically step up our investment in Eireann in relation to upgrading all municipal waste water. waste water systems that are deficient and providing waste water systems where we don't have them. An issue that also arises of course is that there was a new system put in Clifton. The system in ordinary times is more than adequate for the town. The problem is that the storm water also goes in where the waste water goes in and when you get very very heavy rains then the system can't cope and there is an overflow. The same thing that is happening in Clifton happens in Ring's End here in Dublin. Sooner or later we are going to have to face up to the fact that we will have to divert as much storm water as possible away from the sewage systems or the wastewater systems for sewage water. Minister, there was a report out today that was a bit misleading the way it was in the media because it said that half of the houses failed but of course this was done in a risk-based analysis where they tried to target the places they thought there was a problem. So it is not representative of the total number of houses. The waste water system in private houses can be a problem but the government penny pitches for the 500,000 houses in the country we are spending less than a million a year. Now figure out what you are spending on wastewater with Ishka Ayrn and for the other lucky million and point three or million point four houses and you suddenly realise that there is only one group to get no investment. It is the people who have to provide their own. Now one simple change that could be made is that if you have a defective system on a once off basis that you would be eligible to the grant and if you could ask for an inspection rather than the present one that you could have a terrible wastewater system but if they don't select you because you're maybe not near other an agglomeration you're not able to get the grant and that is totally totally counter-intuitive. Another issue is the number of small villages we have that are on seward. I could mention for example Kilrónain in the Ireland Islands, Kilcíarrán, Cárna, Cárnamóna and Aguán and on and on and on mention villages Clarenbridge, Crochwell and so on. The reality is that there's a small amount of money to be given for new systems in towns and villages that are on seward. We need to multiply that money immediately by at least tenfold to make any impression across the whole country on all these on seward towns and villages and all of this is just practical actions rather than writing more and more reports when we're dealing with the obvious. Another issue I'd like to mention in the very very short time I have doesn't relate to cleaning water it relates to an issue of access to clean water and ten percent of the houses in the state are dependent on private systems of various various quality wells and streams and so on. I cannot understand why the Department of Housing Planning and local government again and again refuse to accept the premise that the same approach should be taken towards this as was taken to broadband. The approach taken to broadband was that broadband was a fundamental necessity, as is electricity, as is a road to your house. It is a fundamental electricity to modern living. And I believe the state should develop a policy that would say that every house in the country is going to be given the option of connecting to a public supply of water unless they are already connected to a satisfactory quality approved group water scheme. When that kind of job is done, it is done. And the Irish language committee have made it very very clear in the Irish language committee that if the investment was made they would maintain those systems, which would need very little maintenance because they would be brand new and it is connecting to the existing Irish airing pipes. Finally, in my time here, we need to tackle farm waste. There are all our reasons for it and it is a slow one to tackle because even if you reduce the cause, it does not for a while reduce the pollution. But we do have a problem in the South and South East. But one obvious one is to start processing our slurry and producing biogas which will give you a biofuel and replace and displace fossil fuels. But it also gives you a by-product in pellet form that if you spread it on land, does a lot less damage than spreading raw slurry. Therefore, Minister, let us stop talking the theory. I have given about six practical things that could be done. If they were all done, we would suddenly find our rivers and lakes were a lot better than they are. And thankfully, I live in one of the best areas in the country for beautiful, clean lakes, up in the north of areas of the south of the G city.
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