Independent Cllr Christy Hyland has called on Mayo County Council to prioritise funding for the Murrisk to Louisburgh group water scheme - from funding received in the recently announced €23 million national investment in rural water by Minister Eoghan Murphy.
Cllr Hyland said at this week's meeting of Mayo County Council: "I would ask the chief executive to really push the application and to give priority to the Murrisk to Louisbugh group water scheme. We have talked about this in the past - I cannot emphasis enough it is for the West Mayo area, the county, for Connacht and for Ireland.
"We have Croagh Patrick there, the national pilgrimage site and you have all seen the sign saying 'water unfit for human consumption.' I am asking you to submit proposals to the department. This is needed now, it is a disgrace that it was not sorted 20 years ago."
Welcoming the additional investment, which is a €3 million increase on previous progammes, Cllr Jarlath Munnelly said that he did not want to see schemes such as Downpatrick Head, which have been in the system for a long time, jumped over in any plans made.
Mayo County Council chief executive Peter Hynes told the meeting: "On rural water we have a very proud record on these schemes and the additional funding is really welcome. The point is well made there are schemes in the priority listing and we will have to have a look at how that goes and see what we can do, we will have our rural water team look at it. We are well aware of the pressures that are in Murrisk and other areas. We will come back on that. On Downpatrick head, it will be part of the review - but nobody is going to be skipped."
