Major wastewater upgrade gets green light

Uisce Éireann has welcomed a major boost for North Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area following the approval of the long-awaited Greater Dublin Drainage (GDD) Project by An Coimisiún Pleanála.

The GDD project will serve the wastewater treatment needs of up to 500,000 people living and working across North Dublin, as well as parts of Meath, Kildare and Wicklow.

It marks a critical milestone in the future-proofing of essential infrastructure needed to support housing, economic growth and environmental protection in the region.

The €500 million project will see the development of a new regional wastewater treatment facility and sludge hub centre on a 30-hectare site at Clonshagh (Clonshaugh).

An underground orbital sewer will link the facility to Blanchardstown, and a new marine outfall pipe will safely discharge treated water six kilometres out to sea.

The project aims to significantly reduce pressure on existing treatment infrastructure, especially as population growth in the Greater Dublin Area continues to accelerate.

Current projections estimate that wastewater volumes in the area will increase by over 50 percent by 2050.

Welcoming the decision, Maria O’Dwyer, Infrastructure Delivery Director with Uisce Éireann, said the project was essential to supporting the region’s growth.

“Uisce Éireann is delighted to reach this significant milestone.

“The Greater Dublin Drainage project is a key part of our investment in new wastewater infrastructure and will support housing, protect public health, and enhance the environment into the future,” she said.

She added that with population and economic expansion since the planning application was first submitted in 2018, the project is more critical than ever.

The Clonshaugh facility, when completed, will work in tandem with the upgraded Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is due for completion by the end of this year, to provide capacity and resilience for years to come.

Uisce Éireann is now reviewing the full planning permission and attached conditions.

The next steps involve completing the remaining pre-construction statutory processes and procuring contractors for the build. Given the scale of the infrastructure involved, construction is expected to take around four years.

When operational, the GDD project will increase development potential throughout North Dublin and neighbouring counties, enabling the delivery of much-needed homes and reducing the bottlenecks in the current wastewater network.

Fine Gael TD for Dublin North Central, Naoise Ó Muirí, welcomed the decision but said progress has been frustratingly slow.

“As a Northside councillor, my engagement with this project goes back to July 2012, 13 years ago,” Deputy Ó Muirí said.

“This project is a case in point of just how long it takes to deliver essential public infrastructure in Ireland. On a previous update we were told the project would be completed by 2025, yet here we are with planning only now approved and costs likely doubled.”

He added: “I really welcome this permission but we need to get on with it now and break ground. We cannot keep letting the lack of essential infrastructure block housing delivery and hold back economic growth.”