Ballycommon treatment plant delays highlighted

Fianna Fáil TD for North Tipperary and Northwest Kilkenny, Ryan O’Meara, has expressed his shock and annoyance after learning that only 15% of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staff are assigned to licensing work, a figure he says is contributing directly to long delays in processing the discharge licence for the Ballycommon Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Deputy O’Meara received the information following a series of parliamentary questions to the EPA. He and Councillor JP O’Meara previously met with Uisce Éireann to discuss the ongoing capacity issues at the Ballycommon plant, which remains non‑operational. As a result of the stalled upgrade and the absence of a discharge licence, 34 planned homes in Ballycommon cannot proceed. Following that meeting, Deputy O’Meara wrote to the EPA seeking an update on the discharge licence application, submitted by Uisce Éireann in August 2024, and requested details on staffing levels within the agency.

Deputy Ryan O’Meara said: “I am shocked to learn from the EPA that out of their 550 staff currently employed, only 82 are assigned to licensing functions, including both technical and administrative staff who work across a broad range of EPA licensing and permitting regimes. That means just under 15% of EPA staff are working on licensing.

“It is no wonder that the Uisce Éireann application for a discharge licence for the Ballycommon Wastewater Treatment Plant will not be completed until the third quarter of this year.

“I have previously submitted both Freedom of Information and parliamentary questions to Uisce Éireann and the Minister for Housing asking how much money has been spent trucking waste out of Ballycommon to Borrisokane for treatment because the plant is not operational. That information has not been provided to me. It is deeply frustrating to now learn that only 15% of EPA staff are working on issuing discharge licences, including the one we urgently need for Ballycommon.”

Councillor JP O’Meara added: “The people of Ballycommon deserve the basic infrastructure that they need, that includes a wastewater treatment plant that is fit for purpose and is operational. I will continue to work with Deputy Ryan O'Meara to keep the pressure on the EPA to process the discharge licence for Ballycommon. “It is unacceptable that we have to wait this amount of time for a licence to be processed, but it is no wonder when only 15% of their staff are working on this very important function.

Deputy Ryan O’Meara said: “I will continue to work extremely hard to raise the case of the Ballycommon Wastewater Treatment Plant and will work closely with Councillor JP O’Meara as we push for a solution.”