Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am disappointed that the Minister, Deputy James Browne, is not here today. This is a serious issue. If I had known in advance, I might have postponed the question until next week when he would be here to answer it. It is about a serious public health matter in Cork and the senior Minister should be here to provide answers or I should have been notified he would not be here.

For two years, the communities in my constituency have been plagued with dirty, filthy water. Sludge, muck, dirt, rust and high and unsafe levels of manganese in the water have been coming through people's taps. This is because, two years ago, Uisce Éireann spent €40 million on a new water treatment plant - €40 million. The water is worse now than it was before that. That has led to Uisce Éireann bringing in a private contractor. It did not use the local council staff who are contracted. The whole issue of privatisation means that it brought in a private contractor that put caustic soda into the pipes which stripped the lining of 300 km of cast iron pipe, releasing rust, dirt and filth that was there for years and that is what is running into people's drinking water.

I have raised this with Uisce Éireann. This is a serious public health matter. I raised it with the HSE and the EPA. This week, I got test results which prove everything I have been saying for the past two years. Last week, RTÉ's "Prime Time" covered the issue and that programme also proved that the water in Cork is not fit for consumption. Zara King of Virgin Media covered it on that station's news broadcast. It has been covered in the national newspapers and local newspapers and on local radio stations. If this was happening in Dublin, an emergency would be called and a special team put in place, but because it is in Cork - the northside of Cork - we are putting up with it.

To give the Minister of State a feel for it, from 28 August to 25 November, in the Dillon's Cross area of Cork city, 11 tests were done of which four showed the water to be unsafe. In the Gardiner's Hill area, 19 tests were done, of which eight showed unsafe water. In the Thomas Davis Bridge area, eight of 21 tests showed the water to be unsafe. In Gurranabraher, three of 12 tests showed unsafe water and, on 14 October, manganese levels in Gurranabraher were 90 mg per litre. The HSE says it should not be above 50 mg. The World Health Organization, WHO, says that anything above 80 mg is a public health issue. No further test was done in Gurranabraher for three weeks, so, potentially, the people of Gurranabraher were drinking unsafe water for three weeks. There was no public health notification, no advertisement. No one was told about it.

We are now seeing potentially unsafe drinking water being given. I will tell the Minister of State what this means. Children who are given this water over a prolonged period have serious issues relating to neurological delays and reproductive maturity. It is not Sinn Féin who says this. This is what the WHO says. I firmly believe Uisce Éireann is trying to bury this. It does not want to admit that half of the second city in the State has unsafe drinking water because of the consequences of such a scandal and the costs that would be incurred in supplying drinking water to half of Cork city. The HSE and the EPA are doing a Pontius Pilate, washing their hands of it. I have serious concerns. I will write to them to get them in front of the housing committee to explain why they are not acting. The consequences of manganese poisoning are long term and permanent.

What we have here shown in red - I will send the Minister of State a copy of this - are the ones that are over 50 mg per litre. Some of them are 128, 186 or 131 mg per litre. This is dangerous drinking water that the people of the north side of Cork city are being forced to drink.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

At the outset I congratulate Deputy Gould on his successful re-election to Dáil Éireann. I thank him for raising this really important issue. As the Deputy has alluded to, I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the relevant Minister, who cannot be here today but has provided me with quite a lot of briefing material on this. That is because it is a hugely important issue. The issue of safe drinking water has both national and local importance, and I fully appreciate the Deputy's concerns for communities affected. I know the Deputy will appreciate that the operation of the public water supply, together with the operational issues locally, are matters for Uisce Éireann and it has the statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services, which includes water services delivery, planning and operation at national, regional and local levels. In turn, the EPA, as the environmental regulator, is responsible for setting quality standards and enforcing compliance with the EU directives the Deputy mentioned in his contribution, and with national regulations for the provision of drinking water.

I served with the Deputy on the housing and local government Oireachtas committee in the previous term, and it is a very good suggestion he has made that the EPA would come before that committee to discuss this in more detail with him. I understand from inquiries made that Uisce Éireann remains committed to addressing instances of water discolouration for affected customers in Cork city. It wishes to assure householders and businesses that its dedicated task force is taking all possible measures to minimise discolouration and to address the underlying issues right across the city. It continues to advise customers not to drink discoloured water and to contact it directly with any reports of discolouration to help it manage the response in real time and to prioritise reactive works.

To protect public health, Uisce Éireann is undertaking extensive sampling, including testing at customers' taps and at networks and operational sampling in the water treatment plant, and the Deputy has outlined some of those test results. As he knows, manganese is a naturally occurring metal found in many soils, lakes and rivers. While a small amount of manganese is actually good for human health, the HSE and the WHO advise that exposure to high manganese levels on an ongoing basis in drinking water can be a risk to health. All exceedances are, therefore, as standard, notified to the EPA and the HSE.

In old cast-iron mains, which account for half of the 600 km water main network across Cork city - the 300 km the Deputy has referred to - sediment can become dislodged and can occasionally be carried through to customers' taps, leading to discoloured water. This sediment can include manganese build-up, and the flushing of pipes will typically lead to the water running clear again. Following a notified exceedance of manganese at a customer tap, which is normally isolated to that network, Uisce Éireann commences an investigation and typically undertakes reactive flushing works.

All infrastructure at the plant complies with global and national water treatment standards. Uisce Éireann is also progressing an additional investment in a new process at the Lee Road water treatment plant to minimise the impact of treated water, and to minimise the impact that treated water has on the old cast-iron watermain network in the city, to which the Deputy referred. This investment is a new conditioning system and it remains on schedule for installation and commissioning by the middle of this year. This will be delivered as part of the ongoing series of task force initiatives by Uisce Éireann to address water discolouration in Cork city and any impacts it has on constituents the Deputy has referred to.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | 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-----

Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I will finish with this. People with children and babies have to buy bottled water. The people at risk here are people who are blind or have sight issues, as well as older people, who are drinking this water because they do not have the money to buy bottled water.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. To be clear, the message from both the EPA and the HSE is not to drink discoloured water, and to report it to the EPA. I take on board the Deputy's feedback that the EPA and the HSE are not doing enough in that regard, and not doing enough to interact with the public in that regard too. I will absolutely pass that on to the Minister, Deputy Browne, and ask him to act on that.

Our water and wastewater infrastructure requires substantial and sustained investment. That is clear. It requires it over a number of investment cycles to bring the systems up to the standards required of a modern service, to provide for population growth, to build resilience in the face of climate change and to make sure the Deputy's constituents have access from their taps to water they can drink.

Uisce Éireann's capital investment plan for water and wastewater infrastructure is funded on a multiannual basis. There will be record levels of investment in water services by Uisce Éireann in the period 2021 until now, with commitments of over €6 billion in capital investment, of which over €4.5 billion will be voted Exchequer funding for domestic water services for the domestic customers the Deputy is speaking about today. This commitment is reflected in budget 2025, with the Department securing record funding of over €2.7 billion for Uisce Éireann to meet the cost of delivering water services this year. This overall investment will deliver significant improvements in public water and wastewater services across Ireland, including in Cork. It will support improved water supplies in rural Ireland too, and a range of programmes delivering improved water quality in our rivers, lakes and marine areas.

I take on board the valid concerns the Deputy is raising on behalf of his constituents. I will absolutely pass it on to the Minister, Deputy Browne, and it is really important that the EPA, HSE and Uisce Éireann are engaging with all representatives from Cork as we work through this issue.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit.