Key fishing port forced to wait for sewage treatment plant
Since the 1970s, there have been continued calls for such a facility, but county engineer Noel O’Keeffe believes Irish Water, the new body which will take national control of such facilities will look favourably on the project.
Mr O’Keeffe told Fine Gael councillor Jerry Sullivan it would cost €600m to provide proper water and sewage treatment systems throughout the county, and the council did not have that kind of money.
Fianna Fáil councillor Danny Crowley said a sewage treatment plant should be an “absolute necessity for Castletownbere.
“It’s the largest white fish port in the country,” said Mr Crowley. “We need good quality water in the bays for aquaculture as well.”
Mr O’Keeffe maintained that Irish Water’s priorities would be strategic and environmental and, due to Castletownbere’s importance to aquaculture, he believes the project “will get the nod”.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil councillor Donal O’Rourke said he was concerned a planned €5m sewage treatment plant for Clonakilty might not get the go-ahead.
He said the Department of the Environment had “ring-fenced” €3.5m for the project and the local town council was ready to provide €750,000.
However, he claimed the county council was reluctant to match the town council’s figure because it believed Irish Water should fund the project.
“This project could be lost,” said Mr O’Rourke. “Irish Water will become like the NRA. We [the council] will lose control of prioritisation. For the sake of €750,000 we could lose this and the public will be very angry.”
At yesterday’s meeting of the council’s Western Committee, Mr Sullivan was also told that ultra-violet disinfection would be installed on Dursey Island by the end of the year.
Mr O’Keeffe informed Fine Gael councillor Dermot Sheehan that the council was looking at upgrading sand filtration at reservoirs in the region.
Mr Sheehan said a lot of the reservoirs had suffered from “[slurry] run-off from the land this year” and might need their filtration systems replaced.