Housing Minister announces construction of wastewater treatment plants by developers

Ottoline Spearman

Private developers will now be allowed to build wastewater treatment plants, in a major policy change announced by the Government on Tuesday.

Previously, this responsibility sat solely with Uisce Éireann. The change sees builders able to develop new wastewater treatment facilities in collaboration with Uisce Éireann for smaller housing developments of up to 40 homes.

The initiative brought to Cabinet on Tuesday aims to accelerate housing delivery by introducing regulatory changes that allow low-volume wastewater systems (serving up to 40 homes) to be authorised through a registration system. This system will operate under General Binding Rules (GBRs) prescribed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The policy is designed to speed up the delivery of homes in rural towns and villages by introducing regulatory changes that allow low-volume wastewater systems (serving up to 40 homes) to be authorised through a registration system.

This system will operate under General Binding Rules prescribed by the Environmental Protection Agency, but concerns are being raised about standards.

Paul Davis, Lecturer in Public Procurement at DCU, has concerns. Speaking on Newstalk, he said: "How are we going to ensure the standardisation? How are we going to ensure that the long-term costs don't increase? And how are we going to ensure that we have proper handover?

"By the sounds of it, a builder could propose building an extension or an independent plant, and Uisce Éireann could approve that. But that opens the possibility that we have a whole range of different plants being built."

Speaking on Newstalk, Housing Minister James Browne said: "It's very important that we take learnings from the past to ensure that anything that's been carried out by builders or developers is up to standard.

"We've seen in recent years that new regulations have helped to ensure that builders are billing to standard.

"It will be overseen by Uisce Éireann and it will have to be to the Environmental Protection Agency and Uisce Éireann standards.

"It's just facilitating developers to be able to do what Uisce Éireann are doing, but to the same standard, and that is absolutely crucial."

The changes will take effect from early next year.