The Government has allocated an estimated €40m for the repair of private wells over the next five years as part of its National Development Plan for water services and water quality.

The grants are only allocated to those where a water connection to Uisce Éireann or group water scheme is not practical.

Around 10% of households in Ireland get their drinking water from private wells. Some 6% get their water through group schemes.

Another €25m has been budgeted for the remediation of domestic wastewater treatment systems that are identified as a risk to water quality, while €10m has been put in place for the removal of lead pipework in domestic settings to remove contamination risks.

The development plan states that these are estimated amounts of funding rather than committed funding and, as such, the actual spending in each may vary within the overall envelope.

Infrastructure

The total budget for the plan is €12.2bn. Of this figure, €230m will be invested in rural water infrastructure. Over 95% of the overall budget is earmarked for Uisce Éireann.

Some €306m is to be invested to restore and improve water quality in rivers, lakes and coastal waters.

This funding will be used to scale up and enhance targeted initiatives: the Farming for Water European Innovation Partnership (EIP); urban nature-based solution projects to manage surface water drainage and the barrier mitigation programme to improve river habitats.