Kinsale harbour ‘could turn into sewage dump’

THE picturesque Kinsale harbour could turn from a tourist destination to an open sewage dump if an extra €2 million needed to build a treatment plant in the area cannot be found.

Making the claims to the Irish Examiner, Fine Gael county councillor Kevin Murphy said that while €23m was ring-fenced for the area to help build a “Rolls Royce” pipe work system, an extra €2m needed to build the treatment plant in the area was not being made available which could result in raw sewage being pumped directly into the inner Kinsale harbour.

“We already have €23m for the plant for Kinsale town. The pipeline is in place, everything has been done but we don’t have the treatment plant. It is madness,” said Mr Murphy. “Right now we are in breach of EU and EPA water safety regulations because in a worst case scenario sewage is going to be pumped into the sea. We have a Rolls Royce pipe work system, but we don’t have a treatment plant at the end of it.”