Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Tuffy for raising this on the Adjournment. I am pleased to be able to update the House regarding developments in this case.

Separate investigations into this incident, which involved five group water scheme supplies, serving about 1,700 households in Cavan and Monaghan, have been carried out by the respective county councils and by the Health Service Executive. The reports have just become available and were published by all three bodies last Friday. These reports are comprehensive and outline the background to the incident and the actions taken by each of the parties thereafter. They highlight issues identified by the investigations and include a number of recommendations.

The contamination of these supplies came to light over the period 30 March to 5 April 2007 when consumers registered complaints about taste and odour in their drinking water. The schemes were part of a collection of ten treatment plants in Cavan and Monaghan that serve 3,500 households. The source of the problem has been identified as a contaminated batch of poly aluminium chloride, a coagulant used in the water treatment process, which was supplied to the contractor operating the affected treatment plants.

When the problem was identified, the coagulant was immediately replaced by the contractor through a new supplier, and, as a precautionary measure, was replaced across all ten schemes in the project bundle. A "Do Not Use" notice, under Section 9 of the Drinking Water Regulations 2007, was issued on 19 April 2007 to all affected group water scheme users by Cavan and Monaghan County Councils, in consultation with the Health Service Executive.

An incident management team which included representatives of all interested parties was set up immediately and remained in place until the warning notice was withdrawn. During this period arrangements were made to provide householders in all the affected schemes with an alternative supply of drinking water.

This was a regrettable incident that caused great worry and inconvenience to all consumers concerned. On a positive note, it is clear that the public authorities responsible quickly took charge of the situation and, with the co-operation of the contractor, identified the problem, made alternative arrangements to get drinking water to consumers and ensured that the treatment plants were brought back into operation as quickly as possible. I note also that the HSE report has confirmed that the threat to human health was minimised by the low odour and the taste threshold of the phenol contaminant. The expert advice is that the water would have been too unpalatable for consumption to have reached harmful levels.

The HSE has also confirmed that no symptoms or illnesses relating to drinking water were reported and that media reports of mouth irritation and nausea were not noted by or presented to HSE staff. Neither were unusual patterns of illness or symptoms reported by general practitioners in any of the affected areas.

In Ireland there are more than 6,500 public and group water scheme supplies and incidents of this kind are very rare. Nevertheless, all possible measures must be taken to prevent a recurrence. The local authority and HSE reports are being examined in my Department and the recommendations will be given early and careful consideration to ensure that all steps required will be taken to guarantee safe and secure water supplies.

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