Planning permission for a new water treatment plant to be developed at Lough Talt in Sligo have been rejected.

Irish Water was due to carry out the improvements next year, however the project has been halted as a result of a ruling by An Bord Pleanála.

Fianna Fáil TD for Sligo-Leitrim Eamon Scanlon raised concerns over the decision.

He said: "Lough Talt provides the water supply for almost 10,000 people in Ballymote, Ballisodare and Tubbercurry. Plans for a new water treatment plant, which would rectify a number of problems, had been lodged but have now been refused by An Bord Pleanála, which claims the lake is a Special Area of Conservation.

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"We have had to deal with a series of water issues in south Sligo in recent years – in 2015 the water supply was found to have elevated levels of Thihalomethanes (THMs) and the EPA blamed inadequate Cryptosporidium treatment. This was to be addressed through the construction of a new water treatment plant. But this has now been stalled as a result of this Bord Pleanála ruling."

(CD/LM)