Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming in. I have brought in a bottle of water today. This is what is going through the pipes on the north side of Cork city. I represent 130,000 people and, for the past two years, this is what Uisce Éireann has been delivering to our doors. It is an absolute disgrace. People are being told to run the water and that, when it runs clear, it is drinkable. This bottle has been sitting in my office for the past two months. What happens is that the water goes clear because the rust and dirt have sunk to the bottom.

I was given this water by a husband and wife with two young children, one of whom is a raw baby. They have to buy bottled water. They cannot make bottles for their child because they cannot depend on the water. That couple live in Gurranabraher, which is where I live in Cork city. A 69-year-old lady who lives in Blarney Street contacted me yesterday. Her daughter has to go to the local supermarket to buy 5 l of bottled water a day so that she can make tea and wash herself. It is right across the area. I have had a number of meetings with Uisce Éireann in Cork. I have raised the matter in the Dáil a number of times. It is a disgrace that, in the second city in this State, half of the city cannot get clean drinking water. Areas on the south side are affected as well but not to the same level. This water might look clear on the cameras but I challenge anyone to take a glass of it. It is not just Blarney Street and Gurranabraher; it is also Knocknaheeny, Churchfield, Farranree, Blackpool, Mayfield, the Glen and Ballyvolane. A man contacted me this morning to say that he had no water supply in Glanmire last week and that, when the water was reconnected, there must have been a blockage or an air block because he now has no water in his bathroom for flushing the toilet or for washing.

This dirty water going through the pipes has consequences. It is destroying kettles, showers, washing machines and dishwashers. People have spent hundreds, if not thousands, of euros to replace appliances in recent years. I ask the witnesses, as I have asked representatives of Uisce Éireann in Cork, whether there will be a compensation package for the people affected. I also ask that bottled water be delivered to the affected communities. We could use the community associations, GAA clubs, soccer clubs and local community organisations to distribute that water.

Many older people live in Barrett's Buildings, which are located between Gurranabraher and Blarney Street. It is the same in Madden's Buildings in Blackpool. These are vulnerable older people who cannot access clean water and have to walk up and down the hill to get it. There are also a number of blind people. What is a blind person to do? How does he or she know the water is dirty? How does he or she know it has run clear? Family members are now coming in to fill bottles with clean water and put them in the fridge or they are going out to buy it. People are spending between €20 and €40 a week, depending on the size of their families. That is not acceptable at all.

Irish Water has told us that 54% of Cork city water mains are cast iron. Uisce Éireann spent €44 million to put in a new water treatment plant in Cork and the water is now worse than it was than before it was put in two years ago. The issue is that Uisce Éireann employed private contractors to run this facility and they did not have the local knowledge the local authority workers had.

For this reason, too many chemicals were put into the water. In my opinion, and that of the water workers with whom I am working, this caused the strippingof the lining of the cast iron pipes, thereby revealing dirt that then went into the three main reservoirs in the city, namely, Sunday's Well, Harbour View Road and Kilmore Road. They were filled with dirty water full of rust particles.

I will give one example. Irish Water said it would cost €500 million to replace the cast-iron pipes on the northside of Cork city. Has Uisce Éireann applied to central government for this money? If it has not done so, why not? If the application has been submitted, when will this work be started and completed? This situation is a scandal and a major issue around Cork city and I am looking for answers.