News

EPA report highlights areas where continued improvements are needed, and Uisce Éireann remains committed to addressing these through unprecedented capital investment programme. 

 

Thursday, 9 October 2025 – Uisce Éireann is making major strides in upgrading Ireland’s wastewater infrastructure, with record investment driving environmental protection and supporting sustainable development in communities across Ireland. Kilrush and Ballyvaughan are two of the Clare communities benefitting from Uisce Éireann’s investment in wastewater infrastructure across the country in 2024. 

 

The EPA’s Urban Wastewater Treatment Report for 2024 recognises this progress, while also highlighting areas that still need attention. Uisce Éireann is tackling these challenges head-on through a multi-billion-euro capital investment programme—the largest of its kind in the State’s history. 

 

Uisce Éireann acknowledges the EPA’s concerns regarding operational incidents. We recognise that many of these challenges stem from the legacy condition of our assets, which in many cases lack the resilience required of a modern wastewater network. This is primarily due to decades of under-investment and the ageing nature of much of Ireland’s wastewater infrastructure which comprises over 1,000 treatment plants, 2,200 pumping stations, and 26,000km of network. 

 

To address this Uisce Éireann has implemented new organisational structures designed to strengthen operational oversight, improve incident response, and enhance long-term resilience. These changes ensure that we are better equipped to manage risks, respond to incidents, and deliver the high standards of service and environmental protection expected by the public and our regulators. 

 

While issues can and do arise, Uisce Éireann acts quickly to fix them and prevent future problems. And in cases where bigger upgrades are needed, the investment is being made to build new plants or upgrade existing ones. 

 

In 2024 alone, Uisce Éireann invested over €481.4 million in wastewater infrastructure. This is an increase of almost €150m per year since 2020 and brings the total investment since then to over €2 billion. This substantial investment reflects the utility’s commitment to environmental compliance and public health. 

In Clare this investment by Uisce Éireann will lead to improved wastewater treatment in a number of communities.  

 

Uisce Éireann is progressing with works to upgrade Ballyvaughan’s sewerage scheme. This €11 million investment will benefit homes and businesses along the Wild Atlantic Way and will ensure all wastewater is treated appropriately and will serve a population equivalent of 1050 PE. 

 

Meanwhile in Kilrush, Uisce Éireann completed works in 2024 works to modernise and upgrade the Sewerage Scheme. When completed, this €11 million euro project ended the discharge of untreated wastewater from Kilrush into the lower Shannon. This upgrade has also allowed for current and future population growth and supporting the social and economic development of Kilrush. These improvements will improve the water quality of the Shannon Estuary. 

 

In 2024, 92% of Ireland’s treatment plants were fully compliant with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. For those plants not currently achieving compliance, Uisce Éireann has a plan of action to address deficiencies and bring them up to the appropriate standard as quickly as possible.  

 

This includes Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant which is the largest treatment plant in Ireland, dealing with 40% of the entire country’s wastewater load. An investment of €550m is ongoing to deliver, on a phased basis, the capacity to treat the wastewater for a population equivalent of 2.4 million while achieving the standards of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive.  

 

The utility is also making big strides in ending raw sewage discharges and improving compliance rates. Since 2014, new wastewater infrastructure has been built for 35 towns and villages across the country, ending the discharge of raw sewage into the environment. Over 85% of these raw sewage discharges have now been eliminated, equivalent to 128,000 people. This includes in Arklow Co Wicklow where a new wastewater treatment plant in the town was completed earlier this year, ending the decades-long practice of raw sewage discharge, and opening up potential for significant housing and development in the town in the years to come. 

 

However, some key projects in other areas have been stalled due to planning and legal challenges; for example, Kilkee, Co Clare where a much needed new sewerage scheme is currently subject to Judicial Review proceedings. 

 

Overall, the impact of urban wastewater on receiving waters has continued to reduce. Initially identified as the largest pressure, urban wastewater is now the fourth most significant pressure, and its impact is continuing to reduce due to the improvements being made by Uisce Éireann. 

 

 

Maria O’Dwyer, Uisce Éireann’s Director of Infrastructure Delivery, said some of the issues highlighted in the EPA report underlined the scale of the work that still needs to be done to bring our wastewater network to the standard everyone would like to see. 

“We are getting there but it will take many years and continued investment, as well as support from Government, our regulators, communities and our customers, to reach the standards we want to achieve,” she said. 

 

“We know what needs to be done and have an ambitious plan in place to achieve it. Securing the necessary statutory consents for our projects has been a significant challenge, and we have encountered legal obstacles in several locations. For example, the Greater Dublin Drainage Project, which is critical to meeting the rapidly growing wastewater needs of the Greater Dublin Area, has been stuck in the planning system for more than seven years and is currently subject to Judicial Review proceedings which risk delaying it further. Sustainable development cannot happen without appropriate water services infrastructure, and it is imperative that Uisce Éireann is given appropriate consideration in legislation at the plan, policy, and project levels to enable delivery of these essential projects. 

 

“Like everyone else we would like to see faster progress in the delivery of essential wastewater infrastructure, but we remain committed to working closely with the Government and all relevant agencies to expedite these processes. Our goal is to ensure the timely delivery of projects that protect public health, enhance the environment and support sustainable development.”