Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Is Ireland going to grind to a halt every time there is some snow or a heatwave? Storm Emma left thousands without water and, during the hottest summer for decades, Irish Water has implemented a hosepipe ban and called on householders to conserve water by taking four-minute showers, using a cup when cleaning teeth and only using their washing machines when full or when necessary. That is right. We are in a difficult situation and people should think before they use water. However, one thing is clear - this is not about a lack of water. At a press conference last week John Douglas, the general secretary of the Mandate trade union, made the point that there are copious amounts of water in this country over the 52 weeks of the year. The problem is the infrastructure. It is a question of fixing pipes, investment in reservoirs, investment in dual water systems, building standards, retrofitting and house insulation. All of these would make a huge difference in water conservation. According to Emma Kennedy in today's edition of The Irish Times, "No region in Ireland has insufficient water for supply". Every day, Irish Water puts twice as much water into the system as is needed because more water is wasted through leaks than is used by all the households and even industry in Ireland.

Ireland's level of leakage is the highest in western Europe because its pipes have been neglected for decades. Twelve years ago Dublin City Council said that the mains are so ancient that leaving them alone is not an option. Unfortunately, they have practically have been left alone. The pipes are now at breaking point. The main problem with having such decrepit pipes is that they cannot tolerate cold snaps or long dry spells because when the ground shifts, they burst. Irish Water agrees that the water infrastructure needs upgrading but a reference to leakage was noticeably absent from its recent statements. It stated that more than 600 million litres of water are being used in Dublin but there was no acknowledgement that practically 300 million litres are being used in the true sense of the word as the other 300 million litres are being wasted, mainly by Irish Water.

Far more water is lost through network leakage than is used by households yet the finger is continuously pointed at householders. The implication is that there is excessive use. That is not true. Irish people use considerably less water per head than the European average. The latest first fix report shows that once households are notified about leaks in their homes their response is outstanding. Irish Water has repaired 8% of the leaks identified while householders have repaired 36%, despite no financial incentives to do so. Household leakage was cut by almost 40 million litres in two years. The target was 11 million in 39 years. Householders have not just met their leakage targets they have smashed them, which is more than Irish Water has done. Irish Water is nowhere near meeting its target. Between 2011 and 2021, it was supposed to reduce the network leakage from 205 million litres to 166 million litres. Two thirds of the way through that period the network leakage is now higher than it was in the first instance, at 207 million litres. Irish Water says that the answer is to spend €1.3 billion pumping water 200 km across the country to Dublin. We might have to do that in the future but, meanwhile, it has set itself a mains replacement target of just 1% per annum. That means some pipes will not be touched for another 100 years.

Irish Water claims that reducing leakage will not be enough to safeguard Dublin's water supply. However, Emma Kennedy's analysis shows that to be wrong. If Irish Water did nothing more than meet its leakage targets there would be a large surplus of water in Dublin from 2021 to 2050. When there is leakage of such huge volumes of expensive treated water, recovering even a small fraction is equivalent to an enormous new water source. Leakage is treated as part of demand so if leakage is reduced, demand is reduced. Irish Water says Dublin has only 2% spare capacity. This figure is wrong. Dublin's spare capacity is at least at 9% based on the latest full year data. Irish Water has suddenly started to present spare capacity in a way that is neither the international norm nor the method used in its earlier reports, according to Emma Kennedy.

There are other points I wished to make but my main point is that householders conserve and are conscious of their water. They have shown that historically. They should continue to do that, and I will continue to think before I use. That is the way we should approach it. However, the Minister should not point the finger at householders or allow that conversation to begin. The householders are doing their business and it is up to the Government and Irish Water to do their business and put the funding place.

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