Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for raising this critical issue and providing me with the opportunity to outline the position regarding the issues concerning water supplies in the eastern region in the aftermath of Storm Emma. This was a severe weather event, on a par with events in 1982, 1962-63 and 1947. It has had a significant impact on the water network around the country through power outages and the extreme cold has damaged water treatment plants and has led to significant bursts in pipes. The condition of our legacy water-supply pipe network, particularly in Dublin, where the average age of the network is 80 years, has contributed to the widespread outages and water restrictions experienced by customers all over the country.

I acknowledge the inconvenience that disruptions to water supplies mean for customers and I thank them for their forbearance. Every effort is being made to minimise the impact and to prioritise hospitals and daytime usage. I acknowledge the efforts of all the workers involved in Irish Water and local authorities and contractors, who are working so hard to restore supplies as quickly as possible.

Over the course of the past few days, water outages related to power outages have been largely resolved due to co-ordinated work between Irish Water, ESB Networks and local authorities. Irish Water crews have been mobilised across Dublin and around the country to make the necessary repairs at plants and to fix bursts. Significant progress is being made. There are 30 repair crews on the ground finding and fixing leaks in the greater Dublin area. For example, in Dublin three major bursts, in the north docklands, Infirmary Road and Skerries, were wasting the equivalent of the daily water usage of Balbriggan, which has a population of about 25,000 people. These have now been repaired.

In the greater Dublin area, Irish Water saw an increase of more than 10% in the call on normal treated water supplies from Friday, 2 March to Sunday, 4 March. On Monday, 5 March, this increase equated to 28 Ml, which is the equivalent of the daily usage of the population of Cork city. Despite plants working at peak output, storage of water in the reservoirs was significantly depleted. The call on water supplies continues to rise while reservoir levels are low. The decision to impose restrictions across the Dublin network from Monday evening was one that was not taken lightly but Irish Water needed to ensure the city continued to function. The nature and duration of restrictions are being kept under review to minimise the impact on customers, with more targeting and lesser durations yesterday evening.

The difficulties arising from this severe weather event underscore the impacts of historical underinvestment in this vital infrastructure. Investment is being made now to improve the resilience of the entire network on a prioritised basis, to maximise the capacity within the region and to bring a new source of water on stream for the eastern and midlands regions. Some €8.5 billion has been identified in our national development plan — Project 2040. As part of this process, some €680 million will be invested by Irish Water this year, a substantial increase on the €527 million invested in 2017. The national development plan investment includes the new eastern-midlands water supply project, which is currently at the planning stage, and a greater Dublin area - Kildare, south Dublin, Fingal, Dublin city, Meath and Wicklow – leakage-reduction plan. Also included are the Vartry water treatment plant upgrade, the Saggart resource upgrade, the Stillorgan reservoir upgrade, and the Peamount to Saggart trunk main works.

As regards any immediate investment required, any additional costs that are incurred during such events can be recovered by Irish Water through the normal regulatory process. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities, as independent economic regulator of Irish Water, will as part of the normal process to approve revenues for Irish Water, conduct a detailed review of all costs, capital and operational, incurred by Irish Water directly due to such exceptional events. The process of reviewing and approving costs for Irish Water is similar to that which applies to ESB Networks and Gas Networks Ireland as they are also regulated utilities.

Across the country, Irish Water is now dealing with a range of issues, ranging from difficulties with raw water quality and the impact of severe weather on infrastructure to some isolated issues of contamination. As a consequence, some 12,000 people on the Fethard public water supply are on a do-not-drink notice due to hydrocarbon contamination; some 5,400 people currently have no water, down from 11,000 yesterday; a further 12,600 people are on storm-related boil-water notices due to the impact of Storm Emma, down from 14,500 yesterday; and outside the greater Dublin area, GDA, some 35,100 people are on water restrictions, down from 39,000 yesterday.

Irish Water is seeing improvements in many of these areas and, with the exception of the Fethard and the greater Dublin area supplies, expects that most issues will be resolved by the end of the week. Irish Water has been working as part of the national emergency co-ordination group, NECG, and in partnership with local authorities around the country to minimise the risk to customers and restore full supply. I thank those involved in the recovery effort across the country and thank citizens for their forbearance as we recover from this event. I note the thanks to Irish Water by Deputies in this Chamber, which I know will be welcome to Irish Water.

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