David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the office of the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this Topical Issue and the Minister of State for being here this evening. I have been raising this matter consistently since 2016. I raised it in a Topical Issue debate here on 30 May 2023. I also raised it with the Tánaiste on 18 April last. Since 2016, on and off, we have had a boil water notice affecting up to 10,000 people in my constituency. The last boil water notice was issued on 29 October 2022 and remains in place. This means that families and people living in the area are advised to boil water or buy water. I did a rough calculation today which I am sure the Minister of State will be interested in. The average cost of a 5 l bottle of water is €1.45. Men are advised to consume 3 l daily, which is a yearly cost of €317, and women are advised to consume 2 l daily, which is €211 a year. If there are two children under 14 in the family, that costs another €110 a year. That comes to almost €900 for a family of four if they purchase the water. To boil it, it adds up to €310 for the same number of people. That is a substantial amount of money to be forking out every week and every year. Apart from that there is the inconvenience of having to go to the shop and bring it home in the car.

This is happening through no fault of the people themselves. They signed up with Uisce Éireann to get a supply of water. The supply is not up to standard and it is costing extra money. My ask of the Minister of State and the Government is to consider making some gesture of compensation to these families. Maybe €100 per family will go some way to recognise that there is a problem and ease the burden they have at the moment. That would be reasonable and fair. In fact, I would prefer it to be even more than that.

When I raised this issue previously, the Minister of State at the time said he would bring it to the attention of the Minister and Uisce Éireann. The Tánaiste said the same. I have heard nothing since. That is why I am raising it again this evening. I want to ascertain whether the Government has looked at this. Is there any update on this proposal? Is it going to be a flat "no"? Uisce Éireann is responsible for supplying the water and so forth but this goes beyond Uisce Éireann. In fairness. Uisce Éireann has submitted planning permission to rectify the situation but I am told it will be another 22 months before the new plant will be commissioned. That is almost another two years. It got planning permission from Cork County Council, but that decision was appealed. An Bord Pleanála upheld the permission that was granted on 11 February this year but it will take about 22 months. It will actually treat 6 million l of water per day. That is the extent of it. This is a serious matter for my constituents. They are put out about it, annoyed about it, and there is an extra cost involved through no fault of their own. Uisce Éireann has been doing its best to rectify the situation. It invested over €1 million a couple of years ago but that did not do the trick. Now it has to put in a state-of-the-art ultra-modern facility to take the silt out of the water to enable the ultraviolet light to do its work and kill the bacteria and viruses that are in the water.

I am interested to hear what the Minister of State has to say. Given that I have raised this matter more than once over the years, I expect a substantive reply to my request for some compensation for the people in my area. More than 10,000 people have been impacted by this for quite a number years, on and off, since 2016. Since October 2022, it has been continuous with no sign of it being lifted.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the Whitegate boil water notice issue. The issue of safe drinking water has national and local importance. I appreciate Deputy Stanton's concerns for the communities affected. The Deputy will appreciate that the operation of Whitegate regional public water supply is a matter for Uisce Éireann, which has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. In turn, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, as the environmental regulator is responsible for setting quality standards and enforcing compliance with EU directives and national regulations for the provision of drinking water. I understand from inquiries made with Uisce Éireann that the boil water notice currently in place for the Whitegate public water supply was issued on 18 October 2023 following consultation between Uisce Éireann, Cork County Council and the HSE. The boil water notice, which remains in place today, was issued to protect approximately 9,500 customers in Whitegate, Aghada, Churchtown, Ballycotton, Saleen, Shanagarry, Ballinacurra and areas of Cloyne. The notice was issued as a result of increased turbidity in the raw water, which can happen at the source as it is susceptible to raw water quality issues after rainfall events. Boil water notices have been issued in respect of the Whitegate public water supply a number of times over the past few years.

Uisce Éireann has advised that in January of this year, following a protracted process, it received planning permission for a new state-of-the-art water treatment facility that will service just over 10,000 people in the east Cork community of Whitegate and surrounding areas. The proposed new state-of-the-art water treatment plant will address the frequent boil water notices that the people of east Cork have experienced over the past number of years. This involves a major upgrade of the water treatment plant that will ensure a safe, reliable drinking water supply to customers. A contractor has been appointed to deliver the design, planning, construction and commissioning works on behalf of Uisce Éireann. It is expected that construction on this vital project will begin in the second half of this year and that the construction phase of the project, as the Deputy said, is expected to take approximately 22 months.

Turning to the issue of financial supports the Deputy raised this evening, Uisce Éireann has a strong customer service focus through its water charges plan and customer charter, which outline the standard of service customers should expect to receive. The water charges plan sets out a compensation mechanism when water quality is compromised and unfit for human consumption, such as when boil water and drinking water restriction notices apply. Business customers who pay charges are entitled to a rebate under the customer handbook as agreed with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU. However, implementation of the water charges plan is a matter in the first instance for Uisce Éireann. Any issues which cannot be resolved by Uisce Éireann to the satisfaction of the customer can be referred through a formal complaint process to the CRU.

My Department’s priority is to ensure that people’s health is protected and that adequate water is available for all consumers. We all want to see the notice lifted without undue delay, but only when the HSE and EPA have confirmed that the water supply is safe for use.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. I agree that we all want the boil water notice to be issued as soon as possible. However, the most recent information I have is that it will take at least 22 months before the plant can be commissioned, so it is almost another two years to wait on top of the many months that have already had to be endured by the people in that area.

My main question now following on from the Minister of State's response is about whether a complaint has been made to the CRU, and if it can actually direct that a compensation scheme might be put in place in instances such as this. I understand that when water charges are being paid by businesses, that is a factor, but there are no water charges being paid by the domestic consumer here. However, people are incurring substantial costs because of the inadequate supply. It would be fair to make some gesture of compensation to them in order to make up for the fact that they have to either boil or purchase water for a protracted period. What I am suggesting is perhaps €100 or €200, like we did with the electricity compensation scheme, for households impacted by this particular extra cost. I am sure the Minister of State will appreciate that if people have to go to shops to buy water, there is extra plastic involved and they are burning extra fuel to go to the shops to get it. People are impacted by, we will say, certain diseases or are vulnerable, such as babies with milk formula and so forth. People have no choice but to actually go to the shops and buy water or else boil the water. That all leads to extra costs and extra inconvenience. People are put out by it. It has gone on for quite a while and will go on for a while longer. I ask the Minister of State to go back to his Department and maybe talk to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities and come back to me with a response, hopefully saying that, yes, it will consider making some gesture of compensation to people in situations such as this.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I once again thank Deputy Stanton for raising this issue. I acknowledge the patience and co-operation of the residents and businesses in the Whitegate area who have been affected. Certainly, the points Deputy Stanton raised tonight are very valid. This is a huge inconvenience for the residents in the local area. The point regarding any compensation measures will be a decision for Uisce Éireann. However, I take the points the Deputy raised tonight. There is a protracted construction phase delivery of up to 22 months. I will re-emphasise that Government's priority is to ensure that the people's health is protected and that we have swift delivery with regard to this project, but only when the HSE and the EPA have confirmed that the water supply is safe. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter this evening. I will commit to respond to him once I have further details.