Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Water supply, particularly in some areas of the State, is on a knife edge. The prevalence of good weather and the lack of rain will only add to that. I fully understand the Minister of State's remark that Irish Water believes the two main facilities for the storage of water for the Dublin area, including Poulaphouca, contain reasonable levels of water. I do not want to become parochial but I obviously know a lot about the Skerries area. The issue is that if the Skerries problem is to recur in the near future because of these issues or if the Skerries reservoir drops below a reasonable level without the pump that we discussed in the House the week before last, we will have restrictions within the county of Dublin. There will be throttling and a potential loss of supply in certain areas on the periphery of the network. As such, even though not all parts of the city or country are affected, there will be water restrictions. Thus, the conservation of water, up to and including the banning of commercial car washes from operating and, potentially, community bans on hoses, should take place. If ever there were reason for Irish Water to utilise section 56 of the Water Services Act, this would be it. As citizens, we should get used to this until such time as our supply issues are resolved.

I appreciate the Minister of State's lengthy reply in which he outlined in detail the measures being taken by Irish Water. It is of little comfort to the individuals all around the country whom he mentioned - in Longford, Offaly, Kilkenny and other places - and who are suffering from water restrictions. It is inevitable that the problem will arise in Dublin over the coming days.

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