I thank the Deputy and I congratulate him for his successful re-election to Dáil Éireann. As he alluded, I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the relevant Minister, Deputy Browne, and the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins. I am happy to pass on the Deputy's feedback in terms of what he has just said about Uisce Éireann and his ask of that company. The supply of public water and the provision of water services, as acknowledged by the Deputy, are matters for Uisce Éireann. Uisce Éireann has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services - planning, delivery and operation - at national, regional and local levels. Under section 7 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013, no Minister has a function regarding Uisce Éireann’s specific operations, as the Deputy said. To be helpful, however, the relevant Minister and I have made inquiries to Uisce Éireann on the Deputy's behalf and the company has confirmed that it is committed to delivering safe and secure drinking water supplies for customers, and that this requires it to comply with all Irish and European Union standards relating to drinking water, in particular, the European Union (Drinking Water) Regulations. I have been informed that the water supplied from the Monroe water treatment plant is harder than the Poulavanogue treatment plant. However, the improvement in water quality and the importance of protecting public health strongly offset any inconvenience which may result from a change in water hardness. Uisce Éireann has advised that hard water contains high levels of natural minerals that have come from rock and soil and it is very common in Ireland’s drinking supply. Hard water does not pose any public health risk and meets the drinking water regulations. Depending on the local geology, the hardness of the water supply will vary, but such water is perfectly safe to drink. Further information on hard water and advice on how to manage it - the Deputy raised a number of concerns of businesses, in particular - is available on the Uisce Éireann website. Uisce Éireann has a strong customer service focus through its water charges plan and customer charter, which outlines the standard of service customers should expect to receive. The water charges plan sets out a comprehensive mechanism in cases where water quality is compromised and unfit for human consumption, such as when boil water and drinking water restriction notices apply. However, the message is that this water is absolutely safe. Business customers, as the Deputy said, pay water charges and those who do so are entitled to a rebate under the customer handbook, as agreed with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, in instances where the water is unsafe. However, the implementation of the plan is a matter for Uisce Éireann. Any issues which cannot be resolved by Uisce Éireann can be referred to the CRU.
Sentiment score: 0.20
The Deputy is right that we need to invest in our water supply. That is crucial and the examples he gave of water shortages and outages really reinforce that. Our water and wastewater systems require substantial and sustained investment over a number of investment cycles to bring them up to the quality and resilience standards required of a modern service, to provide for population growth and to build resilience in the face of climate change. The Department of local government secured record investment for water services for Uisce Éireann in the period 2021 to 2025, with commitments of almost €6 billion in capital investment, of which more than €4.5 billion will be voted Exchequer funding for domestic water services. This commitment is also reflected in this year's budget, with the Department securing record funding of more than €2.2 billion, including €514 million in terms of the billion equity investment. That is all about giving Uisce Éireann the ability and the investment to be able to meet the cost of delivering water services this year. It is important for the Deputy's constituents in Clonmel to know that this overall investment will deliver significant improvements in our public water and wastewater services.
Sentiment score: 0.38
It will support improved water supplies across Ireland, including in Tipperary and rural Ireland, and it will support a range of programmes delivering improved water services in our rivers, lakes and marine areas. It will make a significant contribution to addressing Ireland's needs. Uisce Éireann, as we both acknowledged, has a dedicated team to deal with representations and I will provide the Deputy's feedback to the two relevant Ministers. I hope he will engage with them on the matter to outline the concerns of his constituents, including the businesspeople in his area.
Sentiment score: 0.55
At the outset I congratulate Deputy Gould on his successful re-election to Dáil Éireann. I thank him for raising this really important issue. As the Deputy has alluded to, I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the relevant Minister, who cannot be here today but has provided me with quite a lot of briefing material on this. That is because it is a hugely important issue. The issue of safe drinking water has both national and local importance, and I fully appreciate the Deputy's concerns for communities affected. I know the Deputy will appreciate that the operation of the public water supply, together with the operational issues locally, are matters for Uisce Éireann and it has the statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services, which includes water services delivery, planning and operation at national, regional and local levels. In turn, the EPA, as the environmental regulator, is responsible for setting quality standards and enforcing compliance with the EU directives the Deputy mentioned in his contribution, and with national regulations for the provision of drinking water. I served with the Deputy on the housing and local government Oireachtas committee in the previous term, and it is a very good suggestion he has made that the EPA would come before that committee to discuss this in more detail with him. I understand from inquiries made that Uisce Éireann remains committed to addressing instances of water discolouration for affected customers in Cork city. It wishes to assure householders and businesses that its dedicated task force is taking all possible measures to minimise discolouration and to address the underlying issues right across the city. It continues to advise customers not to drink discoloured water and to contact it directly with any reports of discolouration to help it manage the response in real time and to prioritise reactive works. To protect public health, Uisce Éireann is undertaking extensive sampling, including testing at customers' taps and at networks and operational sampling in the water treatment plant, and the Deputy has outlined some of those test results. As he knows, manganese is a naturally occurring metal found in many soils, lakes and rivers. While a small amount of manganese is actually good for human health, the HSE and the WHO advise that exposure to high manganese levels on an ongoing basis in drinking water can be a risk to health. All exceedances are, therefore, as standard, notified to the EPA and the HSE. In old cast-iron mains, which account for half of the 600 km water main network across Cork city - the 300 km the Deputy has referred to - sediment can become dislodged and can occasionally be carried through to customers' taps, leading to discoloured water. This sediment can include manganese build-up, and the flushing of pipes will typically lead to the water running clear again. Following a notified exceedance of manganese at a customer tap, which is normally isolated to that network, Uisce Éireann commences an investigation and typically undertakes reactive flushing works. All infrastructure at the plant complies with global and national water treatment standards. Uisce Éireann is also progressing an additional investment in a new process at the Lee Road water treatment plant to minimise the impact of treated water, and to minimise the impact that treated water has on the old cast-iron watermain network in the city, to which the Deputy referred. This investment is a new conditioning system and it remains on schedule for installation and commissioning by the middle of this year. This will be delivered as part of the ongoing series of task force initiatives by Uisce Éireann to address water discolouration in Cork city and any impacts it has on constituents the Deputy has referred to.
Sentiment score: 0.25
I thank the Deputy. To be clear, the message from both the EPA and the HSE is not to drink discoloured water, and to report it to the EPA. I take on board the Deputy's feedback that the EPA and the HSE are not doing enough in that regard, and not doing enough to interact with the public in that regard too. I will absolutely pass that on to the Minister, Deputy Browne, and ask him to act on that. Our water and wastewater infrastructure requires substantial and sustained investment. That is clear. It requires it over a number of investment cycles to bring the systems up to the standards required of a modern service, to provide for population growth, to build resilience in the face of climate change and to make sure the Deputy's constituents have access from their taps to water they can drink. Uisce Éireann's capital investment plan for water and wastewater infrastructure is funded on a multiannual basis. There will be record levels of investment in water services by Uisce Éireann in the period 2021 until now, with commitments of over €6 billion in capital investment, of which over €4.5 billion will be voted Exchequer funding for domestic water services for the domestic customers the Deputy is speaking about today. This commitment is reflected in budget 2025, with the Department securing record funding of over €2.7 billion for Uisce Éireann to meet the cost of delivering water services this year. This overall investment will deliver significant improvements in public water and wastewater services across Ireland, including in Cork. It will support improved water supplies in rural Ireland too, and a range of programmes delivering improved water quality in our rivers, lakes and marine areas. I take on board the valid concerns the Deputy is raising on behalf of his constituents. I will absolutely pass it on to the Minister, Deputy Browne, and it is really important that the EPA, HSE and Uisce Éireann are engaging with all representatives from Cork as we work through this issue.
Sentiment score: 0.32