Young people being forced to move from South Roscommon due to lack of sewerage - TD

Young people in South Roscommon are being forced to move from the area due to the lack of wastewater treatment facilities in Monksland, Brideswell and Curraghboy, Deputy Denis Naughten told the Dáil this week.

"There is no point talking about planning for future housing needs in regional growth centres like Athlone if we do not have the basic infrastructure in place," said the Galway-Roscommon TD.

"The Government has designated Monksland, as well as the rest of Athlone, as a major growth centre that will see substantial growth in the years ahead.

"Monksland now requires a new network upgrade and a new treatment plant in order to cater for increased demand.

"However, the Roscommon side of the town cannot expand because we do not have those facilities. The two closest villages to Monksland - Brideswell and Curraghboy - do not have any wastewater treatment facilities and there are no plans to provide any.

"So where are the young people of South Roscommon going to live? Irish Water needs to publish a five-year sewerage plan for every single county across the country because that type of strategic plan is not there."

The Independent TD went on to say that local employment opportunities in the area were being stalled due to a failure to upgrade wastewater treatment facilities.

"Our towns and villages need this investment in this necessary infrastructure to provide for clean water and wastewater treatment facilities to attract families to live, work and raise their children in these rural communities.

"The lack of this basic infrastructure is being compounded by measures within county development plans right across the country which effectively ban the construction of one-off rural housing.

"The new county development plans will prioritise cluster developments near existing settlements with wastewater treatment facilities. This will decimate existing communities where people cannot build on their own land and now cannot live in their own parish because they have no serviced lands.

"As a result, we are therefore saying to young people in South Roscommon that they must either live in the town of Ballinasloe or Athlone or migrate to Galway or Dublin.

"How is that going to solve the housing and congestion challenges we have in those cities when we cannot even provide young couples with serviced sites?" he concluded.