UISCE ÉIREANN HAS submitted a planning application for the largest-ever water project in Irish history.

The project will have capacity to support the water supply needs of up to 50% of the population.

The planning and compulsory purchase order application was submitted yesterday to An Coimisiún Pleanála for the Water Supply Project Eastern and Midlands Region.

When delivered, Uisce Éireann said the “once in a generation project” will ensure a “sustainable, secure and resilient supply” of drinking water to the Greater Dublin Area and wider Eastern and Midlands region.

Uisce Éireann said such a project is essential to support the growing population and economy, including the increased demand for housing.

Uisce Éireann said the project wll cost between €4.58bn and €5.96bn Uisce Éireann Uisce Éireann

A spokesperson noted that water supply in the Eastern and Midlands region faces major challenges, with an over-reliance on a single source to supply 1.7 million people.

The project will provide Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow with a “resilient, safe, secure water supply”.

It will also create a treated water supply ‘spine’ across the country, providing infrastructure with the capacity for future offtakes to serve communities along the route in Tipperary, Offaly, and Westmeath.

The project will also enable supplies currently serving Dublin to be redirected back to Louth, Meath, Kildare, Carlow and Wicklow, which Uisce Éireann said will promote regional development. 

Subject to a successful planning application, Uisce Éireann proposes to start construction in 2028, with completion within five years.

The project has a budget estimate of between €4.58 billion and €5.96 billion.

At peak construction, the project will employ more than 1,000 people directly.

Uisce Éireann said “extensive” public consultation has taken place to-date, and over the coming months a dedicated project Community Liaison Officer will be visiting communities across the region and meeting with local stakeholders.

Landowner Liaison Officers will also provide impacted landowners with a dedicated point of contact for the project. 

Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers remarked that the submission of the planning application is a “major milestone that will unlock housing in the Eastern and Midlands Region”.

He said it will “support Ireland’s development, not alone in the delivery of new homes, but to sustain businesses and communities right through the Midlands and Eastern region of our country”.

Meanwhile, Maria O’Dwyer, Infrastructure Delivery Director at Uisce Éireann said, that the “growing water supply deficit and lack of supply resilience in the Eastern and Midlands Region is simply not sustainable”, especially because it is estimated that 34% more water will be needed by 2044 in the Greater Dublin Area.

Over the coming months, Uisce Éireann said it will continue to engage with potential contractors and progress the procurement process so that the works, subject to the planning approval, can be mobilised as efficiently as possible.

The Water Supply Project proposes to abstract water from Parteen Basin, upstream of Parteen Weir on the Lower River Shannon, utilising a maximum of 2% of the long-term average flow at Parteen Basin.

It is proposed that the water will be treated near Birdhill, Co Tipperary and treated water will then be piped 170km through counties Tipperary, Offaly and Kildare to a termination point reservoir at Peamount in County Dublin, connecting into the Greater Dublin Area water distribution network.