Dublin essentially out of water, warns Doherty following European meeting

“Dublin is essentially out of water”, European Commissioner for Water Resilience Jessika Roswall was warned in a meeting this week organised by Dublin MEP Regina Doherty.

The Fine Gael MEP hosted representatives from Uisce Éireann in Brussels and organised the meeting with Commissioner Roswall to discuss the near-critical challenges facing Dublin due to lack of infrastructure delivering sufficient water and wastewater capacity.

Commissioner Roswall was updated by the Uisce Éireann representatives on their two largest projects; the Greater Dublin Drainage Project and the Water Supply Project, both of which continue to face extended delays during the planning and approval processes.

Speaking after the meeting, Doherty said “pretty soon, the lack of water supply and wastewater capacity is going to seriously hamper any growth in our city. Without the delivery of major infrastructure upgrades in the immediate future, new development will have to come to almost a complete stop, first new commercial and industry developments, but eventually it will have a serious impact on the delivery of new homes.

“This is not just something to be concerned about in the future, it is happening now.”

Delay impacts because of both European and Irish rules regarding permitting, procurement, environmental protection, and more were discussed in the meeting. Doherty said, “The Uisce Éireann representatives and I made it clear that current rules and regulations are directly contributing to delays and increased costs. We appealed to the Commissioner to do all she can to assist with making permitting and planning easier to get for crucial infrastructure projects like these.

“Commissioner Roswall gave commitments to tackle some of these issues in the upcoming Environmental Omnibus, simplifying the administrative burden of existing rules, making them easier to understand, and faster and cheaper to implement.”

“The Irish Government have to play their part too. In the face of what would be catastrophic limitations on future growth in the Greater Dublin Area, we must be brave when it comes to prioritising critical infrastructure,” she said.