Schemes on hold in Mayo

Schemes delayed by lack of funding

Anton McNulty

MAJOR water and sewerage schemes which were allocated funding by the Department of the Environment have been put on hold by Mayo County Council – until they find a way to finance the local contribution fee, under the ‘polluter pays’ policy.
Under the polluter pays principle, the local authority is obliged to pay for a percentage of the scheme, which in some cases can be between 25 and 30 per cent of the scheme’s budget. It is understood that the overall bill the Council will have to pay for current schemes under the polluter pays policy is close to €25 million.
As a result of the Council’s inability to foot this enormous bill at the moment, a number of schemes in Mayo which have been sanctioned by the Department of the Environment, have been put on hold, The Mayo News has learned. Two of the schemes which come under the polluter pays policy are the Achill Sound Sewerage Scheme and the upgrade of the Lough Mask water treatment works and pipeline extension from Shrah to Westport. The Council have agreed to pay €2.2 million of the €7 million cost for the Achill Sound Sewerage Scheme and while work was expected to start in September, tenders are yet to be signed. The Lough Mask water extension is estimated to cost €22 million and the Council are expected to pay for 25 per cent of that cost. Tenders for that scheme are currently being assessed.
Paying for these schemes has become a major headache for senior Council officials who are restricted in the amount of money they are allowed to borrow and at present they do not have all the necessary funding to pay for their contribution costs. Mr Des Mahon, County Manager, and Mr Peter Duggan, Head of Finance with the Council, are expected to address councillors at next Monday’s monthly meeting of Mayo County Council and give a report on the six-month review of the Council’s finances.
Mayo TD, Michael Ring, told The Mayo News it is unrealistic for the Council to pay for these schemes in the current economic climate and he said he fears that any projects which have not started will not now start in the near future. He said the County Manager’s hands are tied by Government policies, which, he claimed, give no consideration to the needs of rural Ireland.
“The polluter pays policy was fine when the Council were able to finance it through stealth tax from planning fees, but the Council don’t have the resources and are not able to pay for the schemes, it is as simple as that. There are restraints on borrowing and the Council won’t borrow any money they are not able to pay back, because it will bring the county down. To be fair, you can’t blame the County Manager and the other officials. They are told on one hand by the Department of Finance to stay within their budget and on the other hand the Department of the Environment is telling them they must pay a contribution fee.
“The Government are announcing funding for schemes and the Council are asked to contribute matching funds which they don’t have. It is a disgrace that all the sewerage and water schemes in Dublin, Cork and the other big cities were all completed before the polluter pays policy was introduced, and it is the small rural communities who are left behind to pay for them. We don’t have the population to pay for it and it shows that Dublin 4 have no understanding of rural lreland whatsoever,” he said.