Danny Healy-Rae Urges Action on Kilkumen Sewer and Water Schemes
Danny Healy-Rae pressed the Minister on rural water and wastewater issues, urging immediate action on Kilkumen's long-promised sewer scheme and funding for group water schemes. He referenced an EPA announcement on septic tanks affecting one-off house builds, criticised delays by Kerry County Council, and warned that unpaid rates waivers risk depriving local authorities of revenue.
Kilkumen sewer scheme
He said the Kilkumen parish has been promised a sewer scheme since 2004, with funding mentioned in 2008 and 2013, and that work due last year was cancelled. He asked the Minister to ensure the project is placed on a programme this year or, at the latest, next year.
Group water schemes and local supply
He raised concerns about funding and approvals for group water schemes, naming Lyra Compound, Guinea Village, Ratmore and other parts of Kilkumen as waiting for sign-off. He criticised Kerry County Council as being in a standstill and said many households currently do not have a safe water supply.
Rates waivers and local authority funding
He reminded the Minister that rates reduction and waiver schemes have been used for years and argued that local authorities must be compensated for lost revenue. He warned that without compensation to councils such as Kerry, other services could be denied and noted the impact on rural publicans who cannot even open.
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I'm glad to get this opportunity and I want to ask the Minister, there was a big announcement yesterday by the EPA about septic tanks and I believe they were targeting people that want to build a house, you know, a single one-off houses out of the country and they stopped and doing that. I want to talk about Kilkumen, this is a parish, this is a village that has been promised a sewer scheme going back to 2004, it was just that in 2008, there was money announced here in 2013 by a Labour TD and we were supposed, the job was supposed to be done last year. There we are still waiting, it was cancelled last year, Minister, and I'm asking you to ensure that it is on a programme, whether it is for this year, but no later than next year. I also want to ask you too, Minister, about money and funding for group water schemes. Kerry County Council is in a standstill, tactically in a standstill, pushing the can down the road, yes you can make an application, but it's going over. And several groups of people like Lyra Compound, like Guinea Village, like Ratmore, other parts of Kilkumen waiting to get approved for a group water scheme. The basic right of any householder or any community is water and many of them don't have a safe water supply at the present time. Minister, we've had a rates reduction or a rates waiver scheme for many years, and where people couldn't pay, it was either waived or reduced. But, you see, there's a lot of it happening now, Minister, and what I'm asking you to ensure that he compensate, that he compensate the local authorities and compensate our local authority in Kerry, because if you don't, because if you don't, a lot of other services will be denied to people who are entitled to the services. And that's where the problem, I can see a problem there, if you don't adjust and ensure that the local authorities get the funding to compensate them for the last great revenue that they won't be getting, because they can't get, because they can't get, look at the publicans, the rural publicans, they can't even open. So, I'm asking you to, to, to, to see after that, them things, Minister.
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