Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I join others in paying tribute to emergency services staff for the sterling work they did throughout Storm Emma and its aftermath and, in particular, the staff of Irish Water and Fingal County Council who were fantastic. They gave entirely of their own time and were exemplary in how they carried out their work. Unfortunately, we have experienced a thaw in the aftermath of the storm and I have been contacted by constituents. My neighbours in Skerries are very concerned not so much about water restrictions but about the fact that they now have no water or any idea of when it will be restored. They are going back and forth to their houses to check the taps and they are finding it impossible to plan. It is difficult for Deputies to get information on their behalf. They want to know when they will be able to access water and when the supply will be restored. They need information.

Last night, I was contacted by a family from St. Patrick's Close who were at pains to point out that they had not left their taps running. They were worried that somehow the impression might be given that they had contributed to this, which they clearly had not. They had not left their taps running and they were anxious to know when they would get some water back. They were told that they had water and were in an area where only restrictions applied, but they were standing by the tap and no water was coming out. We need to improve the communication and information being provided to people. If this is going to continue for a number of weeks, the fair thing to do is to let people know when restrictions will be in place, when the water will be off and when they can reasonably expect to have their supply restored. They want to plan and to know if they have to come home in the middle of the day to fill the bath and do other practical things.

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