Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an Teachta Connolly as an ábhar tábhachtach seo a chur faoi bhráid na Dála. Tá brón orm go bhfuil an ráiteas a thug an Roinn dom as Béarla agus nach bhfuil aon ráiteas trí Ghaeilge agam. Is féidir liom an Ghaeilge a labhairt ach ba mhaith liom a bheith soiléir agus beacht leis an bpobal. Tá fíricí agam sa ráiteas seo; b’fhéidir nach bhfuil gach freagra agam ach tá na fíricí anseo i mBéarla. Bímid go léir buartha nuair a tharlaíonn rudaí mar seo inár gceantair féin. Tá a lán bá agam leis an Teachta, le muintir Chonamara agus le muintir na Gaillimhe. Ba chóir go mbeadh i bhfad níos mó eolais curtha ar fáil ag Uisce Éireann agus tá an fhreagracht reachtúil aige ó 2014.

I thank the Deputy for raising the important issue of providing safe drinking water. This is a serious issue and I share her concern for the communities of An Spidéal, Inishbofin and Inis Oírr that have been affected by the recent "Do not consume" notices. The Deputy has set out a lot of the facts. Unfortunately I do not have the full information she is seeking today but I will go back to the Department and Irish Water and ask that it be provided to her as a matter of urgency.

Irish Water has had statutory responsibility since 1 January 2014 for all aspects of water services at national, regional and local level and the EPA is responsible for quality standards. The Department has made inquiries of Irish Water and the information that I have is that a "Do not consume" notice for Inishbofin public water supply was issued on 10 September due to elevated levels of manganese. Shortly afterwards on 16 September 2022, "Do not consume" notices for An Spidéal public water supply and Inis Oírr public water supply were issued, also due to elevated levels of manganese.These notices were issued following consultation between Irish Water; Galway County Council, which operates these water treatment plants for Irish Water, and the HSE. These notices are necessary to protect approximately 5,676 customers - I do not like that word and prefer either citizens, residents, or drinkers of water - supplied by An Spidéal public water supply, 156 people supplied by Inishbofin public water supply and 257 people supplied by Inis Oírr public water supply.

I am pleased to report, as the Deputy Connolly said, that the "Do not consume" notice was lifted for Inis Oírr yesterday. Irish Water and the local authority and HSE water liaison group will continue to meet to review the ongoing process control, monitoring and testing of the drinking water supply. Irish Water drinking water compliance and operational experts are working with Galway County Council to resolve the situations in An Spidéal and Inishbofin as soon as possible.

Alternative water supplies in the form of bulk tankers have been arranged. Nobody likes bulk tankers but in the context of what is going on, they are needed. They have been arranged for the people in the affected areas and are in place at a number of locations around An Spidéal and Inishbofin. These alternative water supplies are being replenished on a daily basis. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage's priority is to ensure that people's health is protected and that adequate water is available for all consumers. We all want to see this notice lifted without undue delay, but only when the HSE and EPA are satisfied.

The Government is making substantial investments in our water system to bring the services and systems up to the quality and resilience standards required. I am glad that this issue was spotted through the testing and quality control work that is ongoing because it is obviously a very serious problem. In budget 2022 the Minister secured funding of more than €1.57 billion to support water services. This overall investment will deliver significant improvements in public water and wastewater services right across Ireland.

See this speech in context