Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise the issue of the drinking water supply for the people of Barndarrig in County Wicklow. On 9 February this year, a "do not consume" notice was issued as a result of high nitrate levels in the water supply. It has since been reissued, just this week. A "Do not consume" notice is particularly difficult to deal with during a pandemic, but the residents of Barndarrig have been patient. They have been waiting for Irish Water and Wicklow County Council to deal with this issue, but there is still not clarity on when the "Do not consume" notice will be lifted and what solutions Irish Water is looking at to ensure it can be lifted and that it will not happen again and on why the nitrate levels were so high in the first place.

There are a couple of immediate issues for the community in Barndarrig. The water which is being left for them is in 5 l bottles. It is being left outside in plastic bottles in the sunshine. There are huge littering issues as a result and the bottles are not handy to use, particularly for elderly residents, because they are quite heavy and cumbersome.

There is also an issue with that water in that it has quite a high mineral content. Numerous people have been saying their kettles are being destroyed by the content of the water. I have asked Irish Water to put in a tanker in combination with the water bottles and I am hoping the Minister of State will be able to let me know tonight it will happen.

There are also issues in terms of the communication. The "Do not consume" notice was issued three times over the past number of months, but the residents in Barndarrig have said they have not received much communication from Irish Water on this issue. They would like clarity on what is happening. I ask the Minister of State for an update on what Irish Water is doing, whether it has a timeline and endpoint for this "Do not consume" notice, whether there is any indication of what has happened to cause those high nitrate levels and what Irish Water's solutions are.

See this speech in context