Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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I read with great alarm about the events which took place in the established residential area of Mervue. The area is really divided in two, Old Mervue and New Mervue. Old Mervue was built in the 1960s and before that there was Shantalla, built in the 1950s, Claddagh, which was built before then, and Bóthar Mór, which is older again.

The particular problem which arose in Mervue came about suddenly and without any warning to the residents. To save time and deal with the issues in the case, I ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to clearly specify that if Galway City Council comes up with a response which involves resources, the Department will be willing to give such additional resources and enable the matter to be resolved quickly and with safety.

A second issue that arises relates to discussions which took place between the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and officials in Galway City Council on a previous occasion when the council was suffering following the discovery of cryptosporidium. On that occasion, was there any discussion on any other issues that might arise regarding drinking water quality?

As an aside, I am deeply disappointed by the Minister's attitude towards a different issue, the source of the water supply in the Corrib. He is insistent on leaving it with the local authority but I believe there should be a separate authority for managing water quality and the Corrib.

On this specific issue, I have given the years of construction of the houses, most of which were bought under the tenant purchase scheme. As they were built in the 1960s, they have an elderly population. Effectively, at the end of July, Galway City Council notified the environmental enforcement section of the Environmental Protection Agency of a deterioration which was equivalent to four times the permitted level of lead content. This was 106 micrograms per litre instead of the permitted 25 micrograms per litre.

I welcome the enforcement section of the EPA because before it came about, many complaints one might make were dealt with somewhat rhetorically. When the enforcement section of the Environmental Protection Agency was dealing with this issue, it was 25 August by the time a reply came from Galway City Council to documentation issued on 30 July. The enforcement section of the EPA requested that the council prepare a programme for the replacement of pipework, consult with the Health Service Executive and identify the extent of the problem. That was on 25 August.

On 8 September, the city council responded by indicating that it was determining the extent of the required work and suggested that an agreed approach be forwarded to the EPA. However, it became necessary on 24 September for the enforcement section to issue a direction to the city council to carry out a survey of all the areas involved, the necessary work and the lead testing carried out over the past four years.

How much of that information has been supplied to the EPA? There was also a request to identify an action programme. It is important we get answers to the following questions. Will the additional resources required to put this matter right be provided? Has there been discussions between the two Departments on coming to the relief of an elderly population with the distribution of water, which is urgently required? Will account be taken, for example, that if it is established the connecting pipe in Mervue is made of lead, and there is lead piping in houses in the older estates built before 1970, the Department will be in a position to respond to both circumstances?

My next point is crucial. Will officials from the Department be visiting the city council? Perhaps the most important of my points is to ask why there is such a culture of not declaring a problem openly to the public when it arises. Why was it necessary to have this long delay, which is dramatically revealed by the fact there was an ordinary city council meeting on Monday, 22 September with no mention of the problem? Suddenly, it is revealed on 23 September and a special meeting is held on 24 September. Why is it necessary to want not to declare these matters in public or move quickly to resolve them, thereby avoiding anxiety, particularly among elderly people?

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government who regrets that he cannot be present.

The Minister is very disappointed that this problem should be visited on the people of Galway who went through a very difficult summer in 2007 with cryptosporidium in their public water supply. He is conscious of the difficulties and inconvenience suffered again by some residents. It is a great worry for people and must be solved without delay.

The Minister's understanding is that the lead excess is likely to have been caused by lead leaching into drinking water from old lead water pipes serving certain limited areas of the city, mostly in older housing estates. It is important to stress that the water leaving the treatment works does not contain lead.

Galway City Council has confirmed that its priorities are to identify the areas affected by intensive lead sampling, introduce additional water treatment that would eliminate the leaching effect from old lead pipes and implement permanent pipe replacement measures, as required and as quickly as possible. As a short-term temporary step, standpipes are being erected in the Old Mervue area to provide an alternative potable water supply.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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It is important that water is distributed to old people because requiring people to go to a standpipe, of which it has been suggested there will be one per avenue, would be difficult.

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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In the past year, radically improved supervisory structures for water supplies have been put in place by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Local authority drinking water supplies are now subject to direct supervision by the Environmental Protection Agency. The agency has been given extensive powers of direction and intervention for this purpose and the penalties for failure to comply with the new drinking water regulations have been substantially increased. The EPA yesterday exercised its new powers of direction in this case.

The purpose of the new regime introduced by the Minister is not alone to underpin compliance with water quality standards but to ensure consumers are adequately protected and properly informed. I note the Deputy's comments on the delay in providing information and the culture of secrecy at work. The Minister has in recent weeks announced details of a wide range of measures to guarantee high standards in our water supplies, including accelerated investment in key "at risk" schemes, improved operational practices and sharing of best practice among local authorities. A key element of the Minister's initiative is improvement of consumer access to information on the quality of drinking water.

The Minister will direct local authorities to publish on their websites up-to-date information on drinking water quality in their areas. They will also be instructed to establish contact hot-lines so that members of the public can get the facts about the quality of their drinking water. This ready access to information on water quality will empower consumers to actively engage with their local authority on the quality of their supplies.

The response to the problem that has emerged in this case in Galway shows that the new system works and immediate local action is guaranteed when an incident occurs — all things are relative. The EPA, as the body responsible for supervising local authorities' management of their public water supplies, will oversee Galway City Council's response to the problem.

The latest EPA drinking water report published in January 2008 reported 20 out of the 944 public supplies in the country had a sample with in excess of the standard for lead. These are in all cases associated with lead service connections serving properties that are more than 40 to 50 years old. Many more modern pipes are plastic. The EPA has for several years alerted local authorities to the issue. Appropriate pH correction at the water treatment plant ensures water will not react with lead pipes. The dosing of phosphates is also recommended by the EPA as a means of reducing lead in the water as it has the further effect of sealing the lead within the network. This can be done easily and quickly.

Substantial funding is being provided towards Galway city's water conservation programme and it is open to the city council to prioritise any pipe replacement that would take the offending lead services permanently out of commission. This may provide a solution to the Deputy's request that extra funding be provided. Considerable funding has been allocated to Galway City Council for its water system. It is a matter for the council to prioritise how this funding is spent. In the meantime, it is important that all possible resources are focused on getting the problem solved quickly and effectively. The Minister is confident that with continuing close co-operation between the council, the EPA and the HSE, lead levels in the water supply can be reduced and then phased out.

I will convey to the Minister the Deputy's question concerning lead in households. I doubt the Deputy's request can be acceded to as local authorities are usually responsible for external piping up as far as the walls of households or stopcocks located on footpaths. Piping from the stopcock to household sinks is usually the responsibility of the householder unless he or she is a local authority tenant. However, I do not wish to announce policy, favourable or otherwise, on behalf of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. If officials are in good humour, the Deputy's hopes may be realised. I will convey to the Minister the Deputy's comments on the need to assist elderly people. I am sure the area has a strong community and people will assist older members of the community who may not be able to walk to standpipes.