Fine Gael TD Michelle Mulherin has this week said that works on the Ballina Mains Rehabilitation Scheme will be funded and prioritised this year.
“It was brought to my attention arising out of the Ballina Electoral Area meeting that the council were having problems getting a commitment from Irish Water to proceed with the scheme,” she said. “This was of great concern to me considering the Minister had prioritised and allocated funding for the works last year. The matter is all the more pressing with all the water outages which have been experienced particularly on the Foxford road, Ballina, in the past few weeks. This is not only a waste of water and council resources with council workmen a regular feature on the road out fixing the burst waterpipes, but is also putting homes and businesses under considerable inconvenience and pressure.”
She went on to say: “I immediately contacted and met the Minister and subsequently met Jerry Grant, Irish Water's head of asset management. To me the challenge for Irish Water, with the advent of water charges upon us, is to respond in a timely way and prioritise this scheme for Ballina and Knockmore in its capital projects for 2014. I am delighted to confirm that Mr Grant has informed me this morning that the Ballina Water Mains Rehabilitation Scheme will be funded in 2014 and will be prioritised. I would hope to see works commence on the ground in the next couple of months providing there are no further issues with the tenders.”
