Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 9 September 2024
831. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason a 25 house minimum has been put on rural group water schemes, if this decision will be reversed (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34861/24]
View answerIn January this year, I launched the Multi-annual Rural Water Programme (MARWP) 2024-2026. Local authorities were invited to submit requests for funding for priority projects in their areas.
Under MARWP 2024-2026, there are a number individual measures available and each is directed at a specific activity, such as source protection, water treatment, network improvement etc. The funding measures available are broadly in line with those provided under the previous cycle of MARWP.
However, the experience from previous MARWP is that for small scale Community Water Connection (CWC) projects, the costs per house are extremely high. Therefore, in order to benefit from economies of scale and ensure that CWC projects are viable, a minimum number of 25 households has been set for this funding measure.
