Council to seek meeting over details of €113m Athlone wastewater works schedule

Westmeath County Council has agreed to seek an urgent meeting with Uisce Éireann to learn the exact details of its plans for the mammoth €113m Athlone wastewater scheme.

It follows disquiet expressed by some Athlone area councillors last week at what was seen as a lack of engagement with councillors and the public on the entire project.

Council cathaoirleach Cllr Aengus O'Rourke told last Monday's monthly meeting of the council that he was infuriated by Uisce Éireann's approach to engagement with elected representatives and the public.

READ MORE: 'Huge chunk of Burgess Park to close'

“I’m still waiting for some meaningful engagement from Irish Water in relation to the overall project,” an angry Cllr O'Rourke stated.

“We want to know when it is going to start, what it involves, when will it finish, who'll be impacted and when will they be impacted?” he said.

He repeated a call on on Irish Water to come before the district or members of the full council to give us a “root and branch full detailed presentation on what this piece of work entails”.

Cllr O'Rourke revealed the councillors had in recent weeks sought a meeting with Uisce Éireann but had instead been offered a Zoom call. He said councillors had rejected this and reiterated their call for a face-to-face meeting instead.

“We have facilitated Irish Water at every point in this process, but they haven’t once facilitated us as members and that infuriates me.”

He proposed the council write to “the most senior officer” in Uisce ÉEireann seeking a meeting, a call seconded by Cllr John Dolan, who also suggested some, or all, of that meeting could take place on site.

Referring to the discussion on the agreement to license land in Burgess Park to Uisce Éireann, Cllr O'Rourke said the council decision meant a section of this popular public amenity would be tied up “for God knows how many years”, but said he and his fellow councillors were not in a position to give answers to the public on timescale and other details.

Director of Services Barry Kehoe said it was a matter for Uisce Éireann.

He said he understood their policy is “that they communication through the various channels they have established including webinars and particular events with the members. That’s their policy and that’s what I have been told. That’s the position as we stand.”

“We are working with them closely to make sure that the project to minimise disruption to the people of the town and to get it done as quickly as possible."

Responding to a request for comment, Uisce Éireann said it is "committed to working with and communicating regularly with the local community and all our stakeholders, including elected representatives and local businesses" on this vital project for Athlone.

"To date we have provided extensive information on the projects and offered a number of opportunities to meet and engage with our team. As the project progresses we will continue to engage with the local community throughout the duration of the work.

"There has been extensive of engagement with elected representatives, business stakeholders, and the general public," it said, stating that elected representatives, the Chamber of Commerce and businesses have been offered a number of project briefings to date, including in June 2021 and January 2023."

It said it offered a zoom briefing with local elected representatives in January.

"We welcome engagement from the public and other stakeholders via our website. www.water.ie , or our customer contact centre at 1800 278 278."

Full details of the project are also available on our project page at www.water.ie/projects-plans/athlone-main-drainage-scheme/

It said its project team issues regular (typically weekly) updates to the elected representatives, Chamber and stakeholders.

These updates advise of upcoming works and are included on the project webpage. The first of these updates was issued on Friday, January 27

The dedicated Community Liaison Officer began work at the end of December.

"The CLO has been carrying out door visits to those impacted, providing information on the project and being available for questions," it said.