Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In these times of crippling austerity there is nothing that more infuriates the public than the squandering of public moneys and the imposition of new charges and taxes which further compound the existing and continuing hardship on a very suppressed public, hundreds and thousands of whom are living on a shoestring budget and enduring hardship in all its forms on a daily basis.

Irish Water has been built on a very weak foundation of a chronically weak and inadequate water network whereby many millions of gallons of water is lost through leaking pipes every day and many areas of the country have contaminated and polluted water supplies. In my own county, day after day on local Kerry radio there are announcements of broken pipelines, of water being temporarily cut off from periods of anything from 12 to 24 hours at a minimum and boil-water notices are very frequently announced. These intermittent supplies are common in many parts of County Kerry and it is ridiculous to expect any of these householders and businesses to pay for a diabolical and inferior service. All Members are aware that this is reflective of a situation throughout the country. Irish Water must respond in a timely fashion to requests by Kerry County Council for approval to proceed with the replacement of these pipelines throughout the county and this work will cost many millions of euro.

I refer to a case of serious lead pollution relating to 275 homes in St. Brendan's park in Tralee where tests have shown lead levels of 15 times higher than the legal limit. The residents have unknowingly been drinking contaminated supplies for the past 60 years and currently Irish Water and Kerry County Council are being prosecuted by the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to replace these pipelines on foot of a pending court case. It is only now that action is being taken and the pipelines are being replaced but it will take a long number of months to do so. In the meantime these residents should be given an immediate exemption of all charges until such time as the pipelines are replaced. There is also a need for emergency measures to provide drinking water in the interim to these people. I ask the Minister to intervene in this case. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Ann Phelan, to convey the message to the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, to intervene immediately and to sort out the problems for these residents in this estate.

See this speech in context