Welcome for Water Investment in Kilkenny

Noonan welcomes water investment for Kilkenny

The allocation of over €127m for water services in Kilkenny City and County has been welcomed by Kilkenny Green Party Councillor Malcolm Noonan. The announcement was made as part of a €5.8m National investment package announced this week by Environment Minister John Gormley.

‘I am encouraged at the scale of the package announced by my colleague John Gormley, Kilkenny is really punching above it’s weight and it’s reflective of the determination of this Local Authority to tackle the infrastructural deficits that exist in our water and waste water provision’ stated Cllr Noonan.

‘Kilkenny County Council has recently agreed a comprehensive and ambitious programme for the upgrade of group, town and the city’s water and waste water treatment facilities and I believe the adoption of this plan by the council has strengthened our case within the department of Environment for funding’ said the Green Party Councillor.

While announcing the funding, Minister Gormley was quick to point out the responsibilities of Local Authorities in bring our water services up to the highest possible standard, stating that access to clean drinking water was a ‘fundamental right’ and that the duty of care lies solely with local authorities to ensure water is free of e coli and cryptosporidium. He stated that vulnerable supplies would be fastracked for funding as would water conservation measures in towns that had supply problems.

Cllr Noonan went on to point out that exponential residential and commercial development in Kilkenny’s villages and towns over the past ten years have played havoc on the abilities of communities to cope with the added demand for services. ‘More importantly however, we have targets to meet under the Water Framework Directive to achieve Good Water Status by 2015 and that all vulnerable water courses are of pristine quality both for human consumption and as wildlife habitats. Water scarcity will increasingly become an issue as climate change becomes more acute over coming years and investments we make now in conserving water will make our supplies more secure’ said Cllr Noonan

‘I believe the package announced by John Gormley shows his intention to bring our water and waste water infrastructure up to the highest possible standards over the term of this Government’ concluded Cllr Noonan.

ENDS