A new sewerage scheme is expected to be approved by Government in the new year for the south Galway village of Kinvara, where 70,000 gallons of effluent are currently being dumped into the bay each day.
However, while the multimillion euro project is expected to get the green light in 2006, it could be at least another three years before Kinvara's pollution problems are solved.
MEP Jim Higgins confirmed that approval for the sewerage scheme was expected from the Department of the Environment within weeks, but he warned that the tender process and construction could take up to three years.
The Kinvara Community Council, which has been battling to get a sewage treatment plant for the village for the past eight years, started a petition to stop the poisoning of the bay over the summer.
It said pubs and restaurants at the harbour were losing customers because of the stench from the raw effluent being dumped into the bay.
