Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Like others, I also welcome the witnesses and thank them for all their efforts. I also commend the Irish Water teams on the ground and county council workers who helped with both serious weather events. Farmers and the general public were also of great assistance in rural areas especially. Reference was made to generators. In many cases they were brought to sites with the help of farmers. The one good thing that came out of the storm was the meitheal approach whereby people helped each other.

Co-ordination is poor on day-to-day issues. I am aware of that from calls to my office from people who have contacted Irish Water in writing and by phone but they find it difficult to get any acknowledgement. They come back to Oireachtas Members or councillors then. There is some fine tuning to be done in that regard.

In response to a question from Deputy Casey about pipes, Mr. Grant referred to stopcocks, fittings and the geophysical presence at all installations. Is that physically possible? It is a huge issue. If the snowstorm occurred in January, we would have been in an awful situation because most stopcocks are just barely under the ground. I walked down a street near the Dáil where roadworks and building works are ongoing due to the Luas and my conclusion is that the pipe infrastructure is very airy fairy. It is very exposed and there is not much cover. I know asbestos pipes do not shatter but pipes will break with sufficient weight on them. The infrastructure in many villages, towns and cities is very poor given the amount of lead services and asbestos pipes. It is prone to ordinary leakage. It was mentioned that pipes are replaced where there are a couple of leaks per month. I am aware of cases where there are a couple of leaks per month. When one turns off the water, one shatters the line back further and it leads to continuous leaks and outages. I would welcome some idea of the replacement programme and the kind of investment that is needed. We will discuss the situation in Dublin later. The pipes must be a priority because it is pointless putting treated water into faulty pipes. That is an issue.

I will not get into a discussion about paying for water today but I believe lack of access to the meter is a huge difficulty in terms of the public having an awareness of leaks and usage, especially given that the new meters are so deep. Could a device not be installed in the home so that people could monitor their own water usage in the interests of conservation? That would allow leaks to be detected more easily. We need a similar system to the one we have for gas and electricity meters. I accept it is something for the future but it should be considered. One could have a bad leak underground that would be hugely damaging to one's property. Has Irish Water considered any such issues?

I expect most new plants are equipped with generators. I thank Irish Water for its response to the recent issues in Tipperary with the Fethard regional water scheme and its contamination by kerosene. I am not being critical, but in terms of design, build and operate schemes, how is Irish Water certain that contractors are undertaking daily site visits? It has been suggested to me that it is not happening. I have no evidence in that regard and I do not wish to blame anyone but it is vital in such plants that major environmental disasters like the one to which I referred is detected as soon as possible. People are scratching their heads and asking questions.

The case in Tipperary concerned a new plant that was opened in a blaze of glory last year. Mr. Grant was there for it. We spent 40 years trying to get the two plants in Burncoat and Fethard and they were bundled eventually. It is worrying that, first, this could happen and at such a cost. Thankfully, no one was affected by the kerosene but the cleaning costs were considerable. People are still afraid to the drink the water in case it is not sufficiently clean. There are many design, build and operate schemes. Mr. Grant said that all the connections are physically monitored and that problems are taken in charge on the day. That is a very good thing. However, my concern is whether there are actual bodies on the ground to do that. I do not believe Irish Water has the personnel even with the help of the county council. I am not being negative. Who is watching the design, build and operate schemes? I know they are meant to be handed back after approximately 20 years in pristine condition and that they can be examined at that stage but who is watching the caretakers who are supposed to be watching out for safety and whatever jobs need to be done?