FINE Gael councillor Dan McSweeney has called on Limerick City and County Council to request that Irish Water includes previous plans to extend the public sewer line from Patrickswell towards Lurriga in its Capital Investment Plan 2022-2026.
Speaking at a recent Metropolitan District meeting, the City West representative pointed out that this has been an ongoing issue for the people of Patrickswell for a number of years.
“The planned extension was promised to the people of Patrickswell back in 2013 when planning permission was granted by the members to proceed with these plans under a Part 8 application. This scheme included the construction of a new foul sewerage pumping station and would serve 42 houses in the Ballyanrahan area of Patrickswell,” Cllr McSweeney told council members.
“In October 2013 Limerick County Council Water Services Department presented a report to the members of Limerick County Council recommending the members to approve the proposal to allow the project to proceed.
“Close to seven years on, these residents are still awaiting this project to commence. I have been in contact with Irish Water on numerous occasions and the response I keep getting is ‘Irish Water has no plans to extend the sewer pipe at present’,” he said.
Cllr McSweeney went on to point out that it was noted in the report from Limerick County Council that this project “will improve the local environment by the subsequent decommissioning of their septic tanks”.
“If I was a resident that was waiting seven years for a project to commence I would have certainly given up hope by now, but these residents have not and it is important that Limerick City and County Council do all they can in their power to ensure that this project, that was deemed to be needed by the local authority in 2013 due to environmental reasons, be now placed back on Irish Water’s Capital Investment Plan.
“I now call on Limerick City and County Council Water Services Department to join me in writing to Irish Water to outline the findings in Limerick County Council’s report dated September 2013 of the environmental benefits this scheme would have on the area and to request this scheme is included in Irish Water’s Capital Investment Plan 2022-2026,” he concluded.
It was agreed at the meeting that the council would write to the national water utility outlining the findings of Limerick County Council’s report and request that this scheme be included in the Irish Water Capital Investment Plan 2022-2026.
