Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Ar an gcéad dul síos, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an gCeann Comhairle, an Teachta Ó Murchú for choosing my Topical Issue. I wish the Minister of State well in her new role, together with my good wishes to all of the Ministers who have been appointed, and I look forward to working constructively with them. However, there has to be a change in the practice of Ministers not coming to the Chamber to take Topical Issue debates. I met the Minister of State in the canteen and she told me that she was taking this Topical Issue. That is fine but this practice has crept in and it is unfair to Deputies. We expect to have the Ministers present to deal with issues so that they can get an understanding of them. It is not good enough, and I hope the practice changes in this Dáil.

Uisce Éireann is working on a €20 million project to move sections of Clonmel water consumers onto a different source. One might ask what is the big deal. The so-called solution includes upgrades to the water treatment plant at Monroe, improvement for a pumping station and a 15 km pipe that will see hard water, uisce crua, being brought into all parts of Clonmel. This is very hard water with lime in it. Currently, water for the whole heart of the town is coming from a Poulavanogue supply in Contae Phort Láirge, in Waterford, up the hill, which is gravity flow. It is a wonderful plant that has been working for 200 years or more. There is a reservoir at Ragwell that is lying idle now that used to provide a backup supply for the centre of the town. Uisce Éireann wants to stop all of that natural supply, which is supplying the businesses and households in the town, and to bring in water from Monroe 15 km away, which depends on a borehole and a pump. I understand that there have been two or three outages this week and that Uisce Éireann cannot explain why the well stopped. Sure, wells will stop. Anybody who has a house knows that wells will go dry and will stop in storms. Without electricity, wells are out. This new service will disconnect the gravity flow into the town. It is nothing short of insanity.

With regard to the hard water, the chamber of commerce has expressed great concerns about the cost. Remember that all of the business people in Clonmel and everywhere else pay for their water, paying quite dearly for water in and water out. They expect to have water that is not going to destroy all of their equipment, much of which is high-spec equipment in cafeterias, hotels and other such premises. The same applies to householders. Already, the people north of the bypass in Clonmel are on hard water, have significant problems and face the cost implications of having to put in softeners and replace salts. Uisce Éireann will not even entertain the idea of putting in a big softener at source. We are begging it to leave the water supply alone. Why would one cut off one's nose to spite one's face and cut off a supply that is working? It is saying that it is because of the standard of water, but it has always been of a high standard and high quality. I salute Eugene Dargan, Mr. Hartigan before him and all the other caretakers who have looked after it. It was built by hand. It is a fabulously crafted reservoir - built by the British army, I am sure - and it has stood the test of time. Now we are giving the whole town this hard water and depending on a borehole that will undoubtedly run dry, given the unexplained outages this week.

Business people have sat down with Uisce Éireann. The manager of the Clonmel Park Hotel, Richard Gleeson of Gleeson's Pub and Nuala Hickey of Hickey's Bakery, which are long-established businesses, do not want this to happen because it will wreck and cause havoc to their equipment. Who will support them? They are already struggling businesses without having this mad, so-called solution. It is not a solution. Uisce Éireann has caused major disruptions all over the town in preparatory works to bring this new supply in, what with the digging up, changing and directing. It is going to be bedlam for businesses and households. It is not acceptable to have a company like Uisce Éireann, which is answerable and accountable to nobody. That is why I wanted the Minister here today. I appeal to the Minister to bring Uisce Éireann in and to have somebody talk to it about the nonsense that is being carried on.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy and I congratulate him for his successful re-election to Dáil Éireann. As he alluded, I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the relevant Minister, Deputy Browne, and the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins. I am happy to pass on the Deputy's feedback in terms of what he has just said about Uisce Éireann and his ask of that company.

The supply of public water and the provision of water services, as acknowledged by the Deputy, are matters for Uisce Éireann. Uisce Éireann has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services - planning, delivery and operation - at national, regional and local levels. Under section 7 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013, no Minister has a function regarding Uisce Éireann’s specific operations, as the Deputy said. To be helpful, however, the relevant Minister and I have made inquiries to Uisce Éireann on the Deputy's behalf and the company has confirmed that it is committed to delivering safe and secure drinking water supplies for customers, and that this requires it to comply with all Irish and European Union standards relating to drinking water, in particular, the European Union (Drinking Water) Regulations.

I have been informed that the water supplied from the Monroe water treatment plant is harder than the Poulavanogue treatment plant.

However, the improvement in water quality and the importance of protecting public health strongly offset any inconvenience which may result from a change in water hardness.

Uisce Éireann has advised that hard water contains high levels of natural minerals that have come from rock and soil and it is very common in Ireland’s drinking supply. Hard water does not pose any public health risk and meets the drinking water regulations. Depending on the local geology, the hardness of the water supply will vary, but such water is perfectly safe to drink. Further information on hard water and advice on how to manage it - the Deputy raised a number of concerns of businesses, in particular - is available on the Uisce Éireann website.

Uisce Éireann has a strong customer service focus through its water charges plan and customer charter, which outlines the standard of service customers should expect to receive. The water charges plan sets out a comprehensive mechanism in cases where water quality is compromised and unfit for human consumption, such as when boil water and drinking water restriction notices apply. However, the message is that this water is absolutely safe. Business customers, as the Deputy said, pay water charges and those who do so are entitled to a rebate under the customer handbook, as agreed with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, in instances where the water is unsafe. However, the implementation of the plan is a matter for Uisce Éireann. Any issues which cannot be resolved by Uisce Éireann can be referred to the CRU.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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I never suggested that the water in Monroe treatment plant was in any way unsafe. My office in Clonmel is on the Poulavanogue supply, the soft water. I think I look healthy enough. The water is perfect. It is State vandalism to dismantle a perfect scheme. It is a backup and it is being dismantled altogether. The pump supply had an outage this week. Clonmel was without water for nearly 50 days last year, maybe more. It is continually being interrupted. We have the Glenary supply, which I know well, the Poulavanogue supply and the Monroe treatment plant. The well will not last. Any household knows that wells run out and the source might go down. The failure of Irish Water to give answers about why the well stopped functioning a number of times in the past week is very worrying.

The Minister of State referred to the website and everything else. It is lovely on paper but it is not functioning. Irish Water is not functioning as a utilities company and the sooner it is stood down, the better. No one from Irish Water will engage and those who will do not know what you are talking about. It does not want to take experience from retiring personnel who have offered to show people where all the connections and valves are. Irish Water knows everything, yet it knows nothing. There are none so blind as those who cannot see at all. The businesspeople and householders in the greater part of old Clonmel will not accept this because it will cost them a fortune. It will damage all their machines, including high-spec machines for catering, washing and everything. It is utter madness to destroy an old functioning water supply that has supplied Clonmel for hundreds of years, and this all in the name of modernisation.

The standards that have been set are too high. That is the problem. The reservoirs are tripping out because it is all computerised and the standards have been set too high. They need to be examined by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA. We need common sense to prevail. We need to keep the soft water and we do not need to destroy a perfectly functioning source that continues to supply the greater part of the town of Clonmel, the heart of Clonmel town.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is right that we need to invest in our water supply. That is crucial and the examples he gave of water shortages and outages really reinforce that. Our water and wastewater systems require substantial and sustained investment over a number of investment cycles to bring them up to the quality and resilience standards required of a modern service, to provide for population growth and to build resilience in the face of climate change. The Department of local government secured record investment for water services for Uisce Éireann in the period 2021 to 2025, with commitments of almost €6 billion in capital investment, of which more than €4.5 billion will be voted Exchequer funding for domestic water services. This commitment is also reflected in this year's budget, with the Department securing record funding of more than €2.2 billion, including €514 million in terms of the billion equity investment. That is all about giving Uisce Éireann the ability and the investment to be able to meet the cost of delivering water services this year.

It is important for the Deputy's constituents in Clonmel to know that this overall investment will deliver significant improvements in our public water and wastewater services.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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And the well will run dry.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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It will support improved water supplies across Ireland, including in Tipperary and rural Ireland, and it will support a range of programmes delivering improved water services in our rivers, lakes and marine areas. It will make a significant contribution to addressing Ireland's needs. Uisce Éireann, as we both acknowledged, has a dedicated team to deal with representations and I will provide the Deputy's feedback to the two relevant Ministers. I hope he will engage with them on the matter to outline the concerns of his constituents, including the businesspeople in his area.