Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will continue on. Many of the questions have been asked. I believe there is a huge communication problem. A system where Irish Water does not know who is vulnerable or who qualifies to be vulnerable is a problem before we even start. Irish Water does not know what the 31 local authorities are doing because every local authority is different and I believe it needs to put something in place. It is crucial. We all know vulnerable people. Can I go into my local authority and say to a council worker that I know a vulnerable person who needs water? What do I do to get it? It is an issue when one loses contact with the person on the ground. I am from Carlow and Carlow local authority was always the base. Carlow County Council always fixed the pipes and did the work. When a person rang the council, he or she knew who he or she was ringing. The person knew the face.

Irish Water has been an operational company since it began in 2014. The company's lo-call number is 1890 278 278. I give it out all the time. I have my own number, which I call and get through to the local call centre. I have done this several times because I have done it for other people. Then the local call centre has to get through to Irish Water. Then Irish Water must get through to the local authority, whichever one it is. Local authorities cannot touch a pipe without getting consent from Irish Water. There is now a system whereby a person rings a number, gets through to a call centre, then the call is passed on to Irish Water and then to the particular local authority. It is not working. The reason it is not working is that there are too many numbers. I am constantly highlighting water outages or whatever is happening. I do not mind doing that because that is my role. I will do that. People, however, are finding it hard. It is not like going in and speaking to someone face to face. I do not think this system is working. Is there any way that Irish Water could change that? I believe that local authorities have lost all power. I deal with Gráinne in Carlow, who is excellent. I must give her credit where credit is due, but I feel that there is a huge communication problem, which is getting bigger. Irish Water needs to look at that. Perhaps the witnesses could come back to me on that.