Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Irish Water should be abolished. Of course, it should never have been established. It is not fit for purpose and it is hiding from the public. It has no public offices. It refuses to meet elected representatives in open, democratic forums like county council meetings. Consumers cannot meet any Irish Water official face to face. People can report a problem to a call centre. They may get a report back in a week, or a month or, more often, not at all. Irish Water has contempt for consumers and councillors alike. I had a family deliberately deprived of water for a full ten days over Christmas, including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and St. Stephen's Day. It was absolutely outrageous.

Planned outages are not notified to consumers. With Electric Ireland or the ESB, people will get a card saying they will have no electricity between such and such times. With Irish Water there is no such thing. Irish Water is bringing hard water into the town of Clonmel in my constituency. This water has already caused huge problems and costs for families in the northern section of Clonmel. Householders are forced to replace all white goods regularly. This includes dishwashers, washing machines, electric kettles and showers. Many have had to install water softeners, which have significant installation and running costs. Irish Water wants to bring that into the rest of Clonmel and of course refuses to treat the hard water at source. It defies logic.

There is also the matter of sewerage blockages in estates on what are called combined sewers.

These blockages are a health hazard, not just to the householders involved but also to the public because many a time they overspill onto footpaths and public roads. Irish Water refuses to deal with these blockages, claiming they are a private issue even though, before the establishment of Irish Water, they were always dealt with by local authority staff. A blockage at a single location arising from old pipework can affect up to 50 households. It is impossible, impractical and unfair that individual householders should bear the significant cost involved. Irish Water should free these blockages in the same way local authorities did in the past. Will the Minister of State intervene specifically on this issue? I am dealing with a number of these issues through my office. It is causing huge concern to householders.

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