Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This bottle I am holding contains what we are drinking in Cork. It is yellow. The thing about this is that if you boil it, the cast iron, the dirt and the manganese are still in it. People are boiling the water at home thinking they are doing the right thing but instead all they are doing is drinking dirty water. Does the Minister of State think the people of Dublin would accept this? Why should the people of Cork North-Central accept it? Does she think the people of Dublin would accept dirty water or manganese levels that are unfit for human consumption? It is not me saying it. This is what these test results are saying.

The response here today - I know it is not the Minister of State's response; she was reading it out - is absolutely pathetic. With regard to the Department and Irish Water-Uisce Éireann sending this in, who are they codding? Do they think we are fools in Cork? It says here that the Minister has no responsibility. If Irish Water is poisoning the people of Cork, it is the Minister's responsibility.

It says here that the EPA is the regulator responsible for setting high quality standards. The EPA does not want to know about it. It is turning a blind eye. We have been trying to contact it and it wants to know nothing about it, and it is the same with the HSE. People in Cork have contacted me to say they are suffering with migraines and have had problems. One family contacted me and said that in hindsight, when they looked back, it was probably the drinking water that made the family sick but they did not know at the time about high manganese levels and the effects they have on people.

Uisce Éireann has told the Minister of State that where the water runs clear, it is safe to drink. It is not. We have the figures here. When the water is tested and it is not fit for human conscription, why is a notice not put out to the public saying not to drink the water in this area as it is not fit to drink? I need answers. The people of Cork need answers. This would not be acceptable anywhere.

I want the senior Minister to come to Cork and see whether he, his family or this Government would drink this water. We are not going to drink it anymore. People are paying €20 and €30 a week-----

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