€1.3bn Dublin Sewage Plant Approved After 7 Years: What You Need to Know

The Greater Dublin Drainage Project, one of Uisce Éireann’s largest national infrastructure projects, involves the construction of a vast sewage plant in Clonshaugh, close to Dublin Airport. A €1.3 billion Dublin sewage plant, designed to serve 500,000 people, has finally been granted permission by An Coimisiún Pleanála after seven years in the planning system. Delays to the construction of the plant, which will serve north Dublin, Meath, and Kildare, have repeatedly been cited in restricting the development of new housing across the Dublin region, as well as posing environmental and health risks.

The Greater Dublin Drainage Project aims to ease the burden on the municipal sewage plant in Ringsend in south Dublin and facilitate growth in the capital’s population. The need for a regional sewage plant for the capital was identified 20 years ago, and Uisce Éireann has emphasized its importance in safeguarding public health, protecting the environment, and enabling future development.

The scheme involves the construction of an underground pipeline starting at Blanchardstown, collecting and transferring sewage to the plant at Clonshaugh via a new pumping station at Abbotstown. The treated water will be discharged to the Irish Sea through a 6km marine outfall pipeline from Baldoyle to a point 1km northeast of Ireland’s Eye.

After facing delays and a successful judicial review, the plant has finally received permission from An Coimisiún Pleanála this week. Uisce Éireann has raised concerns about its ability to supply new homes, highlighting the urgent need for investment in water and sewerage systems to meet the growing demand for connections to the wastewater network in the Greater Dublin Area.