Latest news with #JerryGrant
Irish Times
23-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on funding water infrastructure: the €12 billion spanner
The squeaky wheel gets the grease, or perhaps in the case of Uisce Éireann the dripping tap gets the €12 billion spanner. For months, the utility has been decrying its lack of funds at every opportunity in a concerted and coordinated fashion to ensure the Government and the public could be in no doubt that unless pipes went into the ground there would be no more homes. In March the utility's chairman Jerry Grant told a Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland conference that the State's water and sewerage systems were in 'a desperate state' because of 'extraordinary complacency' and 'passive indifference' to investment in infrastructure. The goal of building 50,000 homes on average each year could not be met unless there was a 'new approach from the Government' in developing water services, Grant said, READ MORE The utility has to be commended for taking this forthright approach. After all, the strategy worked. A hefty chunk has been allocated to Uisce Éireann u nder the National Development Pla n – €2 billion in equity funding, another €2.5 billion for new large-scale projects, and €7.6 billion to improve water services. The establishment of Irish Water was predicated on a model where, like other utility providers such as electricity and gas companies, user charges would provide its core funding. When in 2016 household charges were suspended and subsequently scrapped, the utility was left – so to speak – high and dry, largely reliant on the annual State budget which mitigated against long-term planning. Finally, the Government appears to be realising that certainty is funding is needed for these vital infrastructural investments, rather than State organisations having to wait to see what emerges in each budget. Private sector infrastructure investors in national projects need similar reassurance. Ministers now recognise the need to guarantee a flow of funding over a long period of years. Whether they can deliver on this if the budget numbers get tight is, of course, the big question.
The Journal
10-07-2025
- Business
- The Journal
Greater Dublin Drainage Project gets green light seven years after it was first proposed
THE GREATER DUBLIN Drainage Project has been given the green light after seven years of uncertainty caused by legal challenges. The major water treatment plant, which will have the capacity to serve 500,000 people, is to be located on a 30-hectare site in Clonshagh in Fingal. Uisce Éireann says people in north Dublin, as well as parts of Meath and Kildare will benefit from it. Objections to the development over environmental concerns had slowed the planning process, and had knock-on effects for housing projects in the area. The cost of the project has doubled over the last seven years, now sitting at €1.3 billion . An Coimisiún Pleanála deemed it unnecessary to hold more public meetings and said there would be net positive long-term effects on public health. It also said there would be 'significant negative temporary impacts' on the public, from noise, vibrations, and other disturbances during construction. As well as nearby houses, Connolly Hospital and St Francis hospice may be impacted. However, the Commission said mitigation measures, such as the construction of a 1km tunnel for an orbital pipeline through the plant's site, will help. Temporary rehousing of local residents may be considered, if the disturbances still prove too much. The Commission doesn't believe that odour from the site will be a problem for locals. Advertisement On the environmental impact, the Commission said there will be 'a number of slight or short and very localised negative impacts' to marine biodiversity. There could also be 'short-term moderate' impact on birds due to the noise and visual disturbance. 'The cumulative benefits of the totality of the treatment system extend beyond the impact of the emissions,' the Commission said. A map of the scale of the GDDP Uisce Éireann Uisce Éireann Uisce Éireann had warned that the drinking water supply in north Dublin was going to be tight over the coming years if delays with projects such as the water treatment plant persisted. The chair of the utility's board Jerry Grant also said the delivery of homes had become 'very challenging' due to various judicial reviews involving this project and others. Uisce Éireann described it as an essential project. In a statement today, a spokesperson for Uisce Éireann said: 'The Greater Dublin Drainage Project was first submitted for planning in 2018 and since that time, population and economic growth means the volume of wastewater we are producing has continued to grow, so the delivery of this critical infrastructure project is more important than ever. 'This project will increase the development potential of Dublin and parts of the surrounding counties by providing new infrastructure that will alleviate pressure within the existing wastewater network.' The utility said the next step is completing the remaining pre-construction statutory processes and progressing the procurement of contractors to construct the project. The project is anticipated to take four years to complete. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Times
06-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Uisce Éireann's €1bn budget funding ‘not additional' and ‘contradicts' impression given to public
Uisce Éireann told the government that €1 billion given to it in last year's budget does not provide additional funding for the utility, saying this was 'in direct contradiction' to the impression given to the public. In its last budget before the election, the outgoing coalition said it was allocating billions from the proceeds of AIB share sales to provide additional ringfenced funding for capital spending – including €1 billion for Uisce Éireann. However, in a letter sent to former minister for housing Darragh O'Brien after the budget, the utility's chairman said the money would provide no extra financial firepower in the coming years. [ Water system 'in a desperate state', says Uisce Éireann chairman Opens in new window ] Jerry Grant told Mr O'Brien that the €1 billion would be used to avoid increased borrowing by Uisce Éireann, and also told the then government that the utility would have to use some of the money immediately to fill a €300 million funding hole in its budget allocation for 2025. READ MORE 'As you are aware, [the €1 billion] did not represent 'additional funding' but was provided in lieu of a new debt facility from the Department of Finance to UÉ.' He outlined that the money would form part of its funding mix for the period 2025-2029, which had been included in a strategic funding plan it had provided to the government – and had already been fully allocated to investments. 'The €1bn capital contribution therefore does not provide any further funding to UÉ to allow the delivery of additional infrastructure.' This is in direct contradiction to the message that this is 'additional funding' that has been allowed to permeate within government circles, industry and the general public and we need to address the implications of this', he wrote. Uisce Éireann has come under severe political pressure in recent months amid suggestions that it is not moving quickly enough, which in turn is holding up housing. It is locked in negotiations with the Coalition seeking another €1.7 billion to help it do so. [ Wastewater treatment at 10 cities and large towns fails to meet EU standards, EPA finds Opens in new window ] Mr Grant has previously said the State's water and sewerage systems 'are in a desperate state' because of 'extraordinary complacency' and 'passive indifference', warning that a new approach from the Government is needed if targets of 50,000 homes annually are to be met. The Opposition rounded on the Government in reaction to the details in the letter, released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act. Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin said the revelations were 'very serious and deeply concerning'. 'Now we learn that this is not extra funding at all, just a different way of funding the current programme.' He said the Government had 'deliberately misled the public on this crucial issue'. Labour finance spokesman Ged Nash said the announcement was a 'three-card trick and has all the hallmarks of another pre-election sleight of hand effort from Fianna Fáil and it is up there with their misleading election campaign claims of 40,000 home completions in 2024'. In response to queries, an Uisce Éireann spokesman confirmed that the views outlined in the letter are unchanged. He said it sought clarity on how the funding was to be accessed after the budget, with the Department of Housing saying it was 'to be used towards our pre-existing capital funding requirements from 2025 to 2028'. 'The €1 billion funding announced as part of Budget 2025 is therefore incorporated in the €16.9 billion requirement in Uisce Éireann's Strategic Funding Plan.' He said the utility company is engaging with the department and seeking a further €1.7 billion to 2029 in ringfenced funding to build infrastructure, as well as improvements in the planning and consenting process. A Department of Housing spokesman said that the funding requirements for Uisce Éireann over the period to 2030 will be considered in the context of the review of the National Development Plan to be completed before the end of June.
