Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

While not wishing to engage in political point-scoring across the House, this is another legacy issue with which this Government has had to deal. These lead pipes have been in existence for generations. Unfortunately, there has been no investigation heretofore of the level now under way, which is a great pity. The matter is now being addressed. I am sure Deputies opposite and all Deputies will welcome that the Minister has given a commitment to introduce a grant scheme to assist low-income households in replacing lead piping.

With effect from 1 January 2014 Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of public water services planning, delivery and operation and national, regional and local levels, including the delivery of the water services capital infrastructure. Irish Water has indicated that its records show that there is no lead water mains in the system and, therefore, the drinking water leaving treatment plants and distributed to the public water mains meets the requirements of the drinking water regulations in relation to lead. As part of its metering programme, Irish Water has identified significant numbers of lead service connections between the public mains and the customer stopcock and water meter. Irish Water is committed to replacing these over time.

In the case of privately owned premises, the property owners are responsible for maintenance of the internal plumbing. In a joint position paper on lead, published by the Environmental Protection Agency and Health Service Executive in 2013, it is recommended that all lead pipes and plumbing in public and private ownership be replaced over time. The Water Services Act 2007 provides that the owner of a premises is responsible for the maintenance and renewal of the internal water distribution system. A key objective of the national strategy to which I referred is to raise public awareness of potential public health issues arising from the risk of lead in drinking water. As part of that strategy, I will be establishing a new grant scheme to assist low-income households in replacing lead pipes in their homes. The scheme will be administered by the local authorities and be in line with drinking water regulations. The available resources will be prioritised to those areas of highest risk, which is only fair. Funding in 2016 for this measure will be finalised in the context of the coming budget.

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