Concerns over River Shannon pipeline to Dublin raised directly with Taosieach

North Tipperary TD, Deputy Michael Lowry raised the proposed water supply pipeline from the River Shannon to Dublin in the Dáil with the Taoiseach on Wednesday.

In what would be the largest water project in the history of the state, it is proposed that more than 300 million litres of water a day will be taken from the Shannon and transported through approximately 170 kilometres of pipeline to supply Dublin at an estimated cost of €5-billion.

Deputy Lowry said that although government have described the work to be carried out as an imperative, there are genuine concerns about this project across communities in North Tipperary and the Midlands, and the impact it will have on one of Ireland's most treasured natural wonders.

Local anglers have highlighted the potential environmental impact of the project, especially on migratory fish, including trout and salmon.

Businesses along the Shannon and Lough Derg that rely on the tourism industry are worried what this could mean for their livelihoods.

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"I am speaking about accommodation providers, local pubs, cafes and small shops, many of them small family-run businesses whose enterprise is sustained by the river and the tourism visitors it attracts.

"Landowners are also raising questions about what the project would mean for them in terms of the construction involved and how this may cause significant disruption," Deputy Lowry said.

"Taoiseach, we are all aware of the need for water infrastructure, particularly in our most populated areas, but it cannot come at the expense of one community's way of life to sustain another.

"I've been being kept updated on the project developments over the years. I can understand why the people impacted, that they need certainty that all other alternatives have been truly explored before we risk damaging this critical waterway.

"We should be looking at, for instance, improving storage capacity closer to where demand exists and upgrading the infrastructure already available.

"So, Taoiseach, I'm asking you, can you outline what assessments have been carried out regarding the impact of the proposed water supply project for local communities along the Shannon? Is government satisfied with this analysis and assessment of the project?

"And can you explain why the government believes that abstracting water from the Shannon is the necessary solution rather than prioritising greater water storage and resilience measures, closer to where the demand actually exists," Deputy Lowry asked.

"We're also aware that the Dublin network is leaking badly. Will there be a large-scale replacement programme to cover Dublin's network, or are we going to be piping fresh water, new water, into a system that's already leaking?

"Finally, we have a very poor record in delivering large-scale public projects on time and within budget. Do you have reason to believe that this proposed ambitious project would be different from past failures? And does Uisce Eireann have the capability to manage a project of this magnitude?" he asked the Taoiseach.

Taoiseach Michael Martin said he appreciates there are concerns but he would say to all public representatives of all parties "that we need to imbue in our nation a sense of strategic direction".

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"Historically, we got it right in terms of utilities and that underpinned inward investment into this country and economic development without question.

"We're at a tipping point now in respect of whether or not we're prepared to make the big leap forward to underpin for future generations basic utilities for economic development, but also for the very, very basic supply of water itself.

"We acknowledge there's a housing crisis. Water will enable us to build more houses.

"If we don't get this done, there'll be thousands of thousands of houses that we cannot build but on to the core issue, alternative options have been examined," the Taoiseach said.

"This is for the Midlands, because the Midlands will benefit enormously from this and the Midlands needs development and people are advocating for new cities and so on in Athlone.

"If we don't do this, you can forget about all of that. So you do need, this is essential but I do accept one thing. I've said this to Irish Water.

"There needs to be a very comprehensive communication approach to explain to people on the ground the benefits and how it will not impact on areas that are very important to B&Bs, to hotels, to businesses and so on that depend on the amenity value of the Shannon and the recreational value of the Shannon and anglers and so on. So desalination was looked at.

"Groundwater sources was looked at, new reservoirs, additional abstraction from other rivers, or further leakage reduction.

"All of those were fully assessed and each was found to be insufficient to meet the scale of long-term demand and did not provide the required resilience or carried significantly higher environmental or cost impacts.

"And in terms of leakage rates, they are coming down. Uisce Eireann has reduced water leakage from 49% to 36% nationally and 37% to 30% in Dublin, driven by a €2-billion investment in the network, including leakage reduction over the last decade.

"And it's important to remember that the level of the Shannon and its flow are currently monitored and managed within a standard band by the ESP as part of operations that are in Ardnacrusha and Uisce Eireann and are working with EPA with the ESP and are very, very clear that this will not compromise the ecology of the Shannon or water services for the local communities.

"Extensive preparation and studies have been undertaken, and Uisce Eireann will continue to monitor the project during and after its construction.

"I've been told by Irish Water, I met them two weeks ago on this and other issues, it will be negligible, any impact on local communities. And we're very conscious of kayakers and those who use it for immunity and anglers and so on," the Taoiseach said.

Deputy Lowry said he agrees that Uisce Eireann needs to communicate with the information that they have and bring the public into their trust.

"It's very important that it happens," he said.

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"I was also struck by the fact that in recent months we have seen unprecedented rainfall, yet very little of that rainwater is actually captured or stored by homeowners or businesses.

"So we should be doing far more to prioritise rainwater harvesting in our communities.

"There are simple and inexpensive systems that are available that would encourage to install and capture used rainwater for non-drinking purposes such as gardening or cleaning.

"So Taoiseach, as well as turning to these big projects that involve extracting water from one region to supply another, we should also look at how best we can capture and manage the rainfall, and we get plenty of it here in Ireland and as guaranteed every year, how we can capture it and harvest it and reuse it," Deputy Lowry said.

Taoiseach Michael Martin said he "couldn't agree with you more."

"Something that's annoyed me a bit, and I've been talking to various ministers in terms of how we, either we have to incentivise rain harvesting for non-drinking purposes, and there's not an easy ways of doing that, and I think we're all waiting for next summer, and hopefully we'll get a bit of sun, but if we get the inevitable sort of planning of utilisation of water for the garden or whatever like that, we'll all eat our hat given the amount of rain that has been falling over the last number of month but I think you're absolutely correct on that," he added.

"Ireland is a small enough country. Many of our own people and families are living in the Midlands or living in Dublin. You know, it's to protect their future is what we're about here and I would just appeal.

"I hope that this doesn't, I'm not saying you are, by the way. I just hope people don't use this politically or electorally there's a lot of infrastructural stuff we cannot get done.

There was a deputy in the House recently, if I just finished by saying, you know, he had legitimate concerns about a gas generation station, about a solar farm, and about a wind farm, all three and I'm left asking the question, how do we switch on the lights?" the Taoiseach said.