Brendan Ryan (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The people of Skerries have experienced great hardship due to the collapse of the water system last week. While restrictions in supply have now been lifted somewhat, this comes with the caveat that they could be reapplied should the need arise. That is very difficult for people with young children, for older people and for those who are sick. The fragility of our water system is there for all to see. We saw it in Drogheda last year and we have seen it in many other areas throughout the country. As a national utility, Irish Water is tasked with fixing our antiquated water infrastructure system. The company says that the problem in Skerries is due to the low level of water in the Thomastown Reservoir due to the recent dry spell and to a number of networking issues. I understand that it has not rained in a couple of weeks, but I do not accept that as a reason for the water in the reservoir to drop to such a low level.

I have lived in Skerries for approximately 40 years. I have lived through numerous heat waves and dry spells but I have never before seen such a catastrophic failure in our water system. There has to be another factor to this, and I believe that there is. I think the main issue lies in the other networking issues to which Irish Water refers. The company needs to come clean on this. Separate to the general water problems in Skerries associated with the levels at Thomastown Reservoir, there is a particular problem in the newest estates of Barnageeragh Cove and Hamilton Hill. Both are on the edge of Skerries and located on higher ground. They have been impacted most severely, with no supply at all during the so-called restricted supply periods. This can only be due to poor water infrastructure design which has not taken account of the terrain in the estates. I accept that they are on high ground but explaining a failure of water supply by saying that a community is located at the extremities of the network is not an acceptable response from Irish Water. The network should be able to provide any planned estates with the same level of water security as homes central to the network system.

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