Ms Ann Marie Part:

I thank the joint committee for the invitation to discuss issues around water quality and supply. I am assistant national director for environmental health at the HSE and I am joined by my colleagues Dr. Deirdre Mulholland, area director of public health; and Dr. Deirdre Lavin, regional chief environmental health officer.

The safety and quality of drinking water has a direct influence on the health of consumers. As the committee is aware, a number of bodies are involved in ensuring the supply of drinking water. The responsibility for the provision and supply of safe drinking water rests with Irish Water, local authorities, committees of group water schemes and those who individually provide their own drinking water. The EPA is the drinking-water-quality regulator responsible for enforcing the drinking water regulations for public water supplies. The HSE has a key role in assessing and advising on potential risks to human health. The HSE has a statutory role in the context of drinking water as a statutory consultee under Regulation No. 9(1) of the EU (Drinking Water) Regulations 2014 and has a further role under public medical officer of health legislative provisions to investigate and prevent spread from probable sources of infection, including water.

In accordance with the drinking water regulations, where Irish Water or a local authority considers that a supply of water intended for human consumption constitutes a potential danger to human health, it must consult with the HSE. The water service authority is obliged in so doing to obtain the agreement of the HSE on the action it proposes to take to protect human health. I have attached an excerpt from the drinking water regulations for the committee's ease of reference.

The environmental health service and departments of public health are the main services within the HSE with which water services authorities interact about drinking water safety. In addition, HSE laboratories provide analysis of clinical samples and microbiological expertise for the management of some drinking water issues. In some laboratories, they also provide analysis of water samples. To enable the application of Regulation 9, statutory consultation, an agreed process, referred to as the management of initial notification of drinking water issues of potential danger to human health, is in place.

In summary, an initial notification record, INR, has been developed and implemented by all those with an interest in the provision and monitoring of safe drinking water. The process outlines the consideration and steps to be followed by the appropriate parties when dealing with a water incident. On becoming aware of an incident in the supply, Irish Water or the relevant local authority undertakes a review and a risk assessment to determine whether it is necessary to consult with the HSE in accordance with Article 9 of the drinking water regulations and prepares a submission to the EPA.

Initial contact with the HSE national environmental health service is made via the local principal environmental health officer, EHO. The principal EHO will assess the information provided and further consider the matter in consultation with colleagues in the local public health department to ensure a consistent and cohesive engagement within the HSE and in response to the water service provider. The INR procedure also outlines the steps to be followed by the HSE environmental health service and public health departments, should they become aware of water incidents on foot of their work. The identification of potential cases or outbreaks may come about due to public health monitoring of infectious disease notifications.

If a drinking water issue is of sufficient seriousness and complexity an incident response team, IRT, will be convened and chaired by the local authority or by Irish Water as appropriate. The incident response team includes representatives of the various relevant agencies that have an input into the provision of safe drinking water. In the event of an outbreak of infectious disease where a drinking water source is suspected to be the cause of illness, the HSE may request that the water services authority convene an IRT. If a HSE outbreak control team is also convened, the outbreak control team, OCT, will liaise with the incident response team andvice versaas appropriate.

Separately, the national drinking water group within the HSE is an interdisciplinary forum to support best practice and promote competence of HSE personnel who have a role in the protection of public health in relation to drinking water. It reports to the relevant heads of service for environmental health and public health and includes representatives from the environmental health service, public health departments, health protection surveillance centre, microbiology and public analysts laboratory services.

My colleagues and I are happy to assist the committee in any way we can on the subject of water supply and quality.