Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise the issue of the Barndarrig "do not consume" water notice. I raised it on 20 May and on that day the Minister of State said Irish Water is installing equipment at the water treatment plant which will treat the water, reduce the nitrate compounds and safeguard the water supply. That was very good news because it meant that the "do not consume" notice which has been in place for 213 residents of Barndarrig since 9 February would be lifted. The Minister of State believed at that point that it would happen within a matter of weeks once the equipment was installed.

Unfortunately, we have waited seven weeks to no avail. Irish Water has instead stated it will install monitoring equipment at the site, which is a very different thing from treatment equipment. Treatment equipment will prevent the water being contaminated and provide long-term security of supply whereas monitoring equipment will only indicate if there is a problem. It is essentially just a warning system. Why is Irish Water no longer installing treatment equipment at Barndarrig, as the Minister of State indicated it would? Why is it placing monitoring equipment at the site?

I also have questions about the monitoring equipment. This supply has been under consideration for quite some time. In 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, conduced an audit on the supply and identified that it was an area of extreme groundwater vulnerability and at risk for contamination. It identified historically high nitrite levels at the site. I am, therefore, surprised we do not have a continuous monitoring system in place on this site. There was apparently another audit earlier this year when the "Do not consume" notice was first in place in February. At that stage, the EPA conducted another audit and thereafter recommended that Irish Water install a continuous monitoring system. Irish Water indicated it would be in place at the end of April and it is still not in place. There must be questions as to why that monitoring system is not in place because it should be there as standard on that water supply to ensure immediate notification if nitrite levels exceed the recommended levels.

Why is a drinking water safety plan not in place for that site, considering it is an area of extreme vulnerability? My understanding is that Irish Water has 60 sites at which risk assessments are in place and, for some reason, Irish Water has not placed Barndarrig on that list. I ask for it to be placed on that list considering the situation in which it has found itself.

Why is the water not being treated, as was previously committed to? Why is a monitoring system not in place already on that water supply? Will a drinking water safety plan be put in place?

See this speech in context