Right Plant. Right Process. Right Place.Restore Our Blue Flag. Protect Liscannor Bay.
The Proposed Project
What Uisce Éireann has proposed so far, in plain language.
This page sets out, in plain language, what Uisce Éireann has proposed so far. Where details are still being decided, we say so. Every item is labelled “proposed” because nothing has yet received planning permission.
Why a new plant is being planned
Two older plants currently serve the area. According to Uisce Éireann, Ennistymon’s plant was built in 1937 and Lahinch’s in 1971, and both are overloaded and do not meet EU standards. Uisce Éireann describes them as “outdated, overloaded, and unable to cope with the needs of the communities they serve”. It says the Lahinch plant is affected by flooding and that the Ennistymon system overflows at the River Inagh.
The EPA visited the Lahinch plant on 22 July 2025. Its report records that the plant flooded on 41 of the 203 days from 1 January to 22 July 2025, and states that the plant “cannot provide adequate and appropriate treatment” to comply with its licence limits.
On 29 September 2025, Uisce Éireann pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court to ten charges brought by the EPA under the Lahinch discharge licence (D0080-01). The charges concerned failure to notify the EPA of flooding of the plant on 1 January, 8 April and 5 August 2024, unauthorised discharges, and breaches of effluent limits in 2023 and 2024. It was fined €20,000.
Sources: Uisce Éireann project webpage, water.ie (accessed 10 October 2026); Uisce Éireann elected representatives briefing, 26 May 2025; EPA Site Visit Report SV32833, Lahinch WWTP, issued 6 August 2025; EPA prosecutions 2025, Uisce Éireann, Lahinch D0080-01.
What is proposed
Uisce Éireann’s May 2025 briefing lists these elements:
One new combined wastewater treatment plant, with storage tanks, serving both Lahinch and Ennistymon (proposed).
Two new pumping stations, one in Lahinch and one in Ennistymon (proposed).
New pipelines linking both towns’ sewer networks to the new plant and to the new outfall (proposed).
A new outfall into Liscannor Bay, replacing the current discharges to the Inagh River (proposed).
Where
Uisce Éireann’s preferred site for the combined plant is at Calluragh, marked L1 on its site maps. It was named as preferred at a pre-planning meeting with Clare County Council on 14 April 2026 and shown as preferred at the briefing for elected representatives on 18 September 2026. The proposed outfall is a long sea outfall pipe of up to 1,500 metres, running into Liscannor Bay from the Cregg Beach area.
Sources: Uisce Éireann pre-planning presentations of 14 April 2026 and 18 September 2026 (released under FOI, FOIR2198, Records 8 and 4); MARA, MAC Report MAC260002 (June 2026), Section 3.
Where the project stands
Stage
Status
Public consultation
Uisce Éireann ran a four-week non-statutory consultation from 28 May to 25 June 2025. It says feedback will be summarised in the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR).
Maritime Area Consent
MARA determined Maritime Area Consent MAC260002 for the outfall on 10 July 2026. MARA’s report recommended a part grant.
Marine survey licence
Application MUL260006, for marine and intertidal surveys in Liscannor Bay, is open for public submissions until 5.30pm on 26 October 2026.
Planning application
Not yet lodged. Uisce Éireann says the application, with an EIAR, will be made directly to An Coimisiún Pleanála, not to Clare County Council. There is no appeal from An Coimisiún Pleanála’s decision; it can only be challenged by judicial review. The terms of the Maritime Area Consent require a planning application within 18 months of the consent, which points to about January 2028.
Sources: water.ie project page; Uisce Éireann May 2025 briefing; MARA case pages MAC260002 (Date of Determination 10/07/2026) and MUL260006; MARA MAC Report MAC260002 (draft terms: application within “18 months from date of grant of MAC”); MARA public notice MUL260006; Citizens Information, An Coimisiún Pleanála.
Our position in brief
We support new wastewater treatment for Lahinch and Ennistymon. Our questions are about the plant, the process and the place. Read them on the next three pages.
