Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Ryan. The first speaking slot is for Fianna Fáil. With the committee's indulgence, I will take that first five-minute slot. If I continue for too long, I hope somebody will cut me off.

The two incidents that have been outlined and the audit that has been completed demonstrate circumstances in which there was a really significant risk to public health. With regard to the incidents at Gorey and Ballymore Eustace, in addition to the previous incident at the Leixlip plant and the incident that endangered the Liffey swim in 2019, Irish Water says that these were down to people management at the plants. It has put them down to mechanical error compounded by human error. I have visited Ballymore Eustace and I know many of the people who work in that plant. The structures put in place between Irish Water and local authorities have had a profound impact in hollowing out much of the expertise in respect of water that previously existed in local authorities as these people moved to Irish Water. There are also employment issues, which have had a significant impact on the security of employment for people on the local authority side of things. Can Irish Water stand over its assertion that this was all down to staffing and the expertise of the operators of the plan given that it has ultimate responsibility for water quality and the strategic management of the public water supply?