2005 - 2006 - Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2012

IRELAND PART 2: COUNTRY ANALYSIS
Urban Services
% Water 98%
% Sewerage 95%
% Sewage treated 40%
Development of sewerage infrastructure
The effect of EU cohesion funding on Ireland’s sewage treatment facilities can be seen from the
development of broadly based secondary/tertiary treatment by 2002-03. The data in the table below
is for people living in groups of at least 500, which accounts for most of the population. 35% of
sewage sludges went to landfill in 2002-03, with the rest being used for agricultural application.
Population served 1994-95 1998-99 2000-01 2002-03
Tertiary 2% 35% 8% 9%
Secondary 18% 21% 21% 58%
Primary 33% 38% 41% 2%
None 41% 29% 23% 18%
Compliance with discharge consents remains a significant problem. For smaller facilities, only 22-
29% of plants met their consents in 2002-03, against 52-57% for larger and more advanced facilities.
Spending needs
€533 million is being spent on rural water between 2000–06. 665 sewage schemes are also being
implemented: 50 have been completed; 186 between 2002-04; 129 from 2005; and 240 rural
schemes. Spending on sewage and water between 2002-04 will be €726 million. In total, some €4.4
billion is being spent by the end of 2005. Ireland has 88 sanitary authorities, with 12 planning to
charge for industrial effluent discharges. The main STW, Ringsend in Dublin, will have a
1.57millionPE.
The Irish government will spend €100 million on bringing rural water supplies up to an appropriate
standard in 2004, a 50% increase on funds planned for 2003. County councils are to receive €78
million; €5 million will go to the single house well grant; €7 million will be for subsidies for group water
schemes; €4 million for pilots of new wastewater treatment systems for small villages.
Freshwater
Total (1998, km 3 ) 47.0
Per capita (1998, m 3 ) 13,187
Withdrawals (1980, km 3 ) 1.2
For domestic use (1987) 16%
For industry (1987) 74%
For agriculture (1987) 10%
Paying for water services
Ireland is the only country in the EU that does not charge for domestic water on a universal basis.
This has traditionally been left to the discretion of local authorities. This has meant that poorer
(usually rural) municipalities imposed charges, while cities such as Dublin and Limerick did not. In the
mid 1990s, an attempt to impose uniform charges backfired and as a result, the Local Government
Act of 1997 abolished domestic water charges.
The EU has responded by cutting Cohesion finance for water projects since 2000: the EU allocated
€1.1 billion under the Cohesion Fund for the environment in Ireland for 1993-02. The EU maintains
that the polluter pays principle, along with the need for cost recovery for compliance work up to 2010,
and has warned that future aid allocations may be cut if Ireland continues to block domestic charges
for water. In addition, the EU wants water metering to be introduced for domestic customers.
115 Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2005 – 2006