€8 million water scheme for Tipperary's largest town will be 'prioritised'
Minister's pledge on Clonmel scheme to extract water from River Suir
The provision of a new €8 million water supply scheme for Clonmel, in which water will be extracted from the River Suir, will be prioritised, Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has stated.
Speaking during his recent visit to Clonmel, the Minister said “the good thing in a positive way is that €8 million has been allocated”.
“The design needs to be completed and planning needs to be got. Then the ball is back in my court and I’ll work with my colleagues like Deputy Jackie Cahill to make sure we can deliver it.
“What the council has asked of me is that I, as best as possible, make sure that Irish Water prioritises it. I’m certainly going to do that on the basis that the design and the planning is done promptly, and in fairness they’re working through it.
“It’s a very serious issue here for people in Clonmel, and I get that.”
The town has been beset by problems with its water supply for many years now, a fact acknowledged by Minister O’Brien.
“Security of water supply is really important. This is a legacy issue,” he said.
“I had a good presentation earlier in the council today. We’re a number of months away from the design being concluded, and I’ve asked the council to keep me abreast of that. I will speak to Irish Water. Until the design is done you can’t proceed with the scheme. But they are working on it as a matter of priority, and obviously will have to apply for planning.”
“The legislation on water extraction has been outstanding since 2004 but I intend to have that bill published in the next few weeks.
“That would also help the process.
“There are some other interim solutions that can help,” the Minister added.