David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for attending. It is a pity the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Ministers of State at that Department cannot be here but I know they have been on their feet all day. There is a major problem affecting water supply for 10,000 people in east Cork and impacting on areas south-east of Midleton such as Ballinacurra, Cloyne, Aghada, Ballycotton, Churchtown, Trabolgan and all of the rural areas inbetween. The problem has been there since early January 2016, which is almost seven years ago. It has resulted in boil water notices being put in place for varying periods of between two weeks and a number of months every year since 2016, sometimes more than three times in the same year.

The most recent boil water notice was issued on 29 October 2022 and remains in place two months later. This means people either have to boil water, at alarming cost, or else bear the cost of purchasing water in plastic bottles, which adds to the overuse of single-use plastic, which we are all trying to avoid. The Minister of State will appreciate this is adding to household costs in a major way, as well as the disruption it causes to households. I understand that on 30 November last Irish Water confirmed it was examining tankering water into the area, although I have not seen that happen yet. This water will still have to be boiled for use, so there is little advantage.

To be fair to Irish Water, as far back as October 2016 it put in a new filtration system with two microfiltration units, and a UV disinfection unit has been installed at a cost of over €1 million. New shuttering controls were also put in place to prevent any inadequately treated water from entering the water supply. However, the fact quite a number of boil water notices have issued since 2016 indicates the spending of that €1 million has not worked. The most recent information from the Irish Water website talks about further works taking place involving the major upgrade of the water treatment plant, for which land has been acquired, and a contractor has been appointed to undertake design and construction. However, full planning permission will be required and the project is currently at detailed design phase. Irish Water is targeting early 2023 for the submission of planning and is anticipating the construction might commence in 2024, so, all going well, we might have a solution by 2025, if we are lucky.

Irish Water told me that despite the cost involved to families, there is no way that it is allowed to compensate families, although businesses are entitled to a discount on bills which is applied automatically. Really and truly, we should look at some way of compensating families.

Another issue that has arisen recently is the notification that Irish Water gives to households. I had a call from a woman today who moved into the area a number of months ago and was unaware of the boil water notice, and both herself and her child were drinking the tap water after that time. This raises questions about how the public, households and families are notified about the putting in place of a boil water notice. I contend that, at the very least, posters, like those we use at election time, should be erected in the geographical areas affected. It is not good enough to rely on newspapers and social media to alert people. This is serious because people can become ill if they are not notified properly. They should also be notified when the notice is taken down because, otherwise, it can become confusing.

I want the Minister to act in four areas. First, he needs to deal with the costs to householders. The Minister knows it costs almost €1.30 to purchase 5 l of water and almost 10 cent each time a full kettle of water is boiled. We can imagine how much people would use in a day for drinking. Second, I want the Minister to direct Irish Water to ensure people are reminded on a regular basis of the boil water notice, and these updates should preferably include the erecting of posters in the area concerned. Third, I want the Minister to engage with Irish Water to see if anything can be done to have the problem rectified before the end of 2025. Fourth, other public representatives, such as councillors in the area, would like to engage with Irish Water, which I understand has so far refused to do so. Irish Water should present itself to the local municipal district meetings and explain to the councillors exactly what is going on and what it plans to do to rectify this.

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