Galway Bay fm newsroom – The charges that apply to local committees that are developing, extending or maintaining Group Water Schemes are a serious deterrent and a heavy load on communities.
That's according to Councillor Joe Byrne who says while Group Water Schemes can qualify for 85 per cent of funding required for the overall project, any road disturbances that may ensue are not grant aided - leaving homeowners to cover the cost.
He says, for example, a Group Water committee in Kilchreest is facing an up-front charge of 5-thousand euro to cover the possibility of long term damage to a roadway during the pipe laying work.
A portion of this up-front payment may be refunded but Councillor Byrne says there would still be a considerable sum of money that could not be recouped by the committee.
The Fine Gael Councillor insists Group Scheme committees should not have to cover such costs.
