Uisce Éireann will lodge a planning application next week for what it describes as the largest water scheme in the State’s history.

The Strategic Infrastructure Development application, together with a Compulsory Purchase Order for the Water Supply Project Eastern and Midlands Region, will be submitted to An Coimisiún Pleanála and will comprise more than 500 documents.

The Eastern and Midlands water system faces significant challenges, notably an over‑reliance on a single source that currently serves 1.7 million people. If delivered, the once‑in‑a‑generation scheme is intended to secure a sustainable, safe and resilient drinking water supply for the Greater Dublin Area and the wider region, underpinning population growth, the economy and rising housing demand, while diversifying sources to build climate resilience.

The project will provide Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow with a strengthened supply and establish a treated‑water ‘spine’ across the country, creating capacity for future offtakes to communities along the route in Tipperary, Offaly and Westmeath. It will also allow water currently diverted to Dublin to be reassigned to Louth, Meath, Kildare, Carlow and Wicklow, improving security of supply for households and businesses and supporting regional development.

Subject to approval, construction is planned to begin in 2028 and finish within five years. The current budget range is €4.58 billion to €5.96 billion. On these figures, Uisce Éireann estimates the scheme will return in excess of €10 for every €1 spent, representing a positive investment for the State.

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Uisce Éireann says the programme will bring socio‑economic and environmental benefits. More than 1,000 people would be directly employed at peak construction, with substantial spending on local suppliers. A bespoke Community Benefit Scheme is proposed, including a multi‑million‑euro Community Gain Investment Fund developed with local authorities along the route to back economic, environmental and educational initiatives during the build.

The utility says it has undertaken extensive public consultation and, in the coming weeks and months, a dedicated Community Liaison Officer will visit communities across the region to meet stakeholders and share further information. Landowner Liaison Officers will continue to act as a named point of contact for affected landowners.

Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Jack Chambers TD, said, "The submission of this planning application for the Water Supply Project to An Coimisiún Pleanála is a major milestone that will unlock housing in the Eastern and Midlands Region. This project is a vital piece of infrastructure to support Ireland’s development, not alone in the delivery of new homes for young people, families and workers in our economy, but to sustain businesses and communities right through the Midlands and Eastern region of our country."

Speaking about the project, Maria O’Dwyer, Infrastructure Delivery Director at Uisce Éireann, said: "The need is clear - the growing water supply deficit and lack of supply resilience in the Eastern & Midlands Region is simply not sustainable. It is estimated that 34% more water will be needed by 2044 in the Greater Dublin Area. This project is critical to enable us to support housing delivery and is backed by the Government’s continued funding commitment. Over the coming months we will continue to engage with potential contractors and progress the procurement process so that, subject to the planning approval, works can be mobilised as quickly and efficiently as possible."

Under the proposal, water would be abstracted from Parteen Basin, upstream of Parteen Weir on the Lower River Shannon, using a maximum of 2% of the long‑term average flow at Parteen Basin. Treatment is planned near Birdhill, Co Tipperary, after which treated water would be conveyed along a 170km pipeline through Tipperary, Offaly and Kildare to a terminating reservoir at Peamount in County Dublin, where it would connect into the Greater Dublin Area distribution network.