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

I thank the Ceann Comhairle and his office for selecting this matter this evening, and I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, for being here to respond to it.

There is a major problem affecting the water supply for almost 10,000 people in east Cork. It is impacting areas south-east of Midleton such as Ballinacurra, Cloyne, Aghada, Ballycotton, Churchtown, Trabolgan and all rural areas in between. This problem has been there, on and off, since January 2016. Boil water notices have been put in place in those areas for varying periods of between two weeks and several months, and the notice that is currently in place has been there since October 2022. This means residents cannot rely on their water supply. Up to 10,000 customers are affected. They have to spend between €1.39 and €1.49 on 5 l of water from local supermarkets. This adds up to a minimum of €16 per month for a recommended consumption of 2 l of water per day and a minimum of €64 per month for a family of four. That is just the cost of buying the water. It does not include the cost of boiling water as well. These numbers highlight the urgency of the matter. In fact, the price of water has increased by almost 10 cent for 5 l since I last raised the matter as a Topical Issue on 15 December 2022. In the meantime, affected households continue to either boil their water or else bear the cost of purchasing plastic water bottles, which adds to the overuse of single-use plastic bottles, something the Minister of State and I do not like to see happen. He will appreciate this is adding in a major way to household costs and adding to the proliferation of single-use plastic.

While Irish Water put in a new filtration system with two microfiltration units and a UV disinfection unit in 2016 at a cost of more than €1 million for both, this has not yielded the desired results and boil water notices have continued to be issued. Irish Water has recognised the need for a major upgrade to the water treatment plant in Whitegate and it has outlined a timeline for construction to commence in 2024, with the plant expected to be completed in late 2025. I appreciate that on 20 January this year, planning permission was submitted for the wastewater treatment plant in Whitegate, but we have yet to see any further updates in this regard.

I understand that, despite the cost involved to families, there currently is no form of compensation mechanism, although businesses in the same situation are entitled to a discount on bills, which is applied automatically. I believe we need to look into compensating the families as well.

Another issue that has arisen recently relates to the regularity of updates on the Irish Water website. While the last boil water notice was issued in October 2022 - and has not been lifted since - there has been no further information issued since 16 March. Residents in the area, my constituents, are anxious to learn if there have been any improvements in the interim. All of this is adding to local household costs and increasing concerns ahead of the summer months when water consumption is expected to be at its highest. I would like the Minister of State to specifically discuss the issue of compensation for said households in east County Cork and the possibility of lifting the notice. Heavy rain causes turbidity in the water, which I understand, but there has not been rain for quite a while. Neither has there been an update from Irish Water with respect to when it expects this to be lifted. The costs and inconvenience to people having to drag water into cars, drive to shops to buy it, bring it back and so on has been going on for months; in fact, it has been going on for years in this particular area. People are losing patience.

I look forward to hearing what the Minister of State has to say. Perhaps he will have some information and may go back to his colleagues in government. While I do not expect him to tell me tonight that he will compensate families, it is something the Government could consider, bearing in mind the stress, problems, inconvenience, cost and pollution this is causing.

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