Sinn Féin spokesperson for Climate Action and the Environment, Darren O’Rourke TD, has slammed the government for falling asleep when it comes to wastewater treatment in Ireland. Decades of under-resourcing, bad planning and temporary fixes mean Ireland must now invest billions of euro in wastewater treatment infrastructure. 

Commenting on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) annual wastewater treatment report, the Meath East TD said:

“Wastewater treatment in Ireland is not fit for purpose and is posing serious risks to our environment and to our health. Today’s report has highlighted yet another serious infrastructural deficit that successive Fianna Fail and Fine Gael governments have presided over for decades.

“Some of the detail contained in the report is truly shocking. Raw sewage is being pumped into 16 towns and villages every day. And there at least 73 areas identified where urgent upgrades are required.

“Despite these dire straits, Uisce Éireann has claimed it will take at least two decades to fix these issues. Even the EPA agrees that this is totally unacceptable.

“For example, of those areas that require urgent upgrades, Uisce Éireann has yet to begin work on over half of them.

“Instead of lighting a fire under Uisce Éireann and mandating them to fix this broken system without delay, the government are content to sit on their hands, acting as mere commentators and absolving themselves of any responsibility. 

“That is not good enough. Ireland cannot afford another 20 years of costly patchwork solutions that never get to the root of the issue.

“The more the government delays fixing the issues causing wastewater discharges the more cost to the taxpayer, the more risk to our health and more damage will be done to rivers, estuaries, lakes and coastal waters.

“It is yet another systemic failure at the heart of this government that the taxpayer will have to pay billions to fix and has proven to be typical of the wasteful and short-sighted Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

“Government must compel Uisce Éireann to carry out their mandate and adhere to the EPA’s recommendations and provide the necessary investment to resolve these issues once and for all.”