Lemybrien included among 21 projects nationally under the Small Towns and Villages Growth Programme
Waterford Fine Gael Senator John Cummins and spokesman on Housing, Local Government and Heritage has welcomed the news that Lemybrien has been included by Irish Water in the Small Towns and Villages Growth Programme (STVGP).
Speaking in Seanad Eireann (today), Senator Cummins said “€97.5 million has been approved by Government and the regulator to allow Irish Water to establish a specific fund called the Small Towns and Villages Growth programme to focus on areas around the country that wouldn’t ordinarily be a priority for investment by Irish Water to create additional capacity to service developments which have planning in place”
Senator Cummins cited an example of a site in Lemybrien which has planning permission in place but cannot commence construction because of identified constraints in the provision of water and wastewater infrastructure. “I have been going back and forth for many months with Irish Water in relation to a scheme of 19 houses which has planning permission in place but cannot get a connection. It has been exceptionally frustrating that at a time when we have such a shortage of housing that priority hasn’t being given to carrying out the necessary testing and designs required”.
Striking a positive but cautious note, Senator Cummins said “Todays confirmation of the inclusion of Lemybrien in the Small Towns and Villages Growth Programme is really welcome news and represents a very significant investment in rural Waterford. This news is the culmination of many months of hard work, however the focus must now turn to carrying out the required testing, designs and procurement to ensure this and the other 20 projects nationally are carried out in a timely fashion”.
Senator Cummins concluded by saying “while I acknowledge that these things do take time, I would echo my comments at the recent Joint Oireachtas Committee in calling for a streamlining of the delivery process; opening up access to the part 8 planning process to Irish Water and running the procurement process alongside the planning process to speed up delivery of schemes to enable builders get on with what they do best – building homes”.