Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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I have been going back and forth on this with Uisce Éireann since I was a councillor. I appreciate that it checked the system for an update prior to this coming to the floor, but there is still no update available for the residents, and the residents have now moved it on to the CRU also.

For background, there are six homes in Ellen’s Court in Rush. Arthur Brett was the first to move in on 19 September 2022, and the other residents moved in over the following months. As with all developments, services need to be signed off before the build is completed and residents move in. Mr. Brett was told the day he moved in that there was a slight issue with Uisce Éireann and that the water connection would be worked on in the next couple of weeks and everything would be sorted out.

Mr. Brett reports now there is a hose connection between the adjacent apartment block running into Ellen’s Court, supplying water to the houses in Ellen’s Court. I have pictures of a Qualpex hose pipe coming over the wall between the two developments, which has been a problem because it freezes over in the winter and they had to put lagging on it last year on one occasion. Ellen’s Court is at the end of the water supply line, so its water pressure is low, and the water pressure in the adjacent Lady Cove apartment block is probably even lower, with some of the residents reporting that they cannot take showers from time to time.

In April 2024, a contractor was on site to install meters, and he was surprised to discover that there was no branch connection. No contractor has been on site since, and the residents have no answers as to when the issue will be resolved. There have been two, if not three, cases opened with Uisce Éireann, looking for the case to be resolved – two by me and one by a previous Minister in a previous term of Government.

The residents would like to know why it has taken nearly two and a half years for the estate to be fully and properly connected to water services. Why are the residents’ concerns being ignored and kicked down the line by Uisce Éireann? Why can no one from Uisce Éireann come out to address the problem or meet one of the residents so they can walk through the problem thoroughly? Can we get commitment from Uisce Éireann that someone will come out and engage with the residents to help fix the issue? Can we get a plan to have a proper connection made to the six houses, which, by proxy, would fix the water pressure in the adjacent Lady Cove apartments?

These are not big asks. After nearly two and a half years since the residents moved in, it should be sorted at this stage.

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy O’Donoghue for raising this. I know it is frustrating. He has probably tabled parliamentary questions on this and got an answer saying that he cannot get detailed responses in parliamentary questions because it is a responsibility for Uisce Éireann. Therefore, this is a good opportunity to raise it in the Dáil and get a bit more detailed response from the Department. I welcome that. I will go into more detail in the response, but there seems to be several complications – legacy issues inherited by Uisce Éireann. I think concerted effort between the developer and Uisce Éireann is needed to resolve this. What is there seems to be a bit of a mess, which is causing, as the Deputy outlined, many of the issues.

As the Deputy will understand, the supply of public water and the provision of water services in general are matters for Uisce Éireann in the first instance. Uisce Éireann has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. The scope, prioritisation and progression of individual projects are matters for Uisce Éireann and approved through its own board and internal governance structures.

Under section 7 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013, neither I nor the Minister, Deputy Browne, have function regarding Uisce Éireann’s specific operations at Ellen's Court. In other words, Ministers cannot get involved in individual projects; that is a matter for Uisce Éireann. However, I have made inquiries for the Deputy, and my understanding from information provided to me is that this matter relates to a water and wastewater connection issue for six houses in Ellen's Court, County Dublin and has been raised directly with Uisce Éireann previously.

Contractors working on behalf of Uisce Éireann undertook some works at the location in November 2023, but their investigation established that connection works could not be completed by Uisce Éireann due to separate works needing to be completed by the developer of the estate on the private side. Engagement has been ongoing with the developer in the interim, with a view to remediating the issues outlined below.

In summary, Uisce Éireann's contractors identified that the wastewater connection for the development had already been made to the wastewater network, contrary to the requirements of the connection agreement. On this basis, the wastewater connection is an unauthorised connection. Further, Uisce Éireann’s contractors also identified that the unauthorised connection to the wastewater network was made directly through an existing storm water pipe, causing very significant damage to the existing storm water network and significantly increasing the risk of flooding in the area. One can see the level of complication and the legacy that has been inherited here. Uisce Éireann understands that the local authority, as the competent storm water authority, has been in touch with the developer as a result, seeking remediation of the storm water network. That absolutely needs to happen.

On the water side, the water pipe installed by the developer is laid directly on top of the wastewater pipe, rendering the installation non-compliant with Uisce Éireann’s relevant standards. While it may be technically feasible to make a water connection to the existing pipe, any such connection will only compound the existing non-compliance issues, including the existing damage to the storm water network. As a result, and pending rectification of the water-wastewater pipe layout to achieve compliance with Uisce Éireann’s relevant standards, it is not possible to proceed with a connection to the water network.

Finally, the Uisce Éireann contractors observed that the development is currently provided with water by way of an exposed onward supply from an existing premises, which is causing water pressure issues both for the existing and new developments and runs the risk of service interruptions for occupants arising from exposure of the pipe to the elements.

Given the unauthorised connections to both the water and wastewater networks, this is now a legal matter for Uisce Éireann. I have requested Uisce Éireann to engage directly with the residents of Ellen's Court to keep them informed of progress. I hope Uisce Éireann does reach out to the residents, as per the response. I directed Uisce Éireann to do that.

The Deputy can see that it is a bit of a mess, and it has been inherited. While I 100% agree with the Deputy that the constituents he represents need answers, connection and for this to be resolved, when developers go about things in such a way, it makes things incredibly difficult, and that has to be acknowledged as well.

Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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We can all agree it is more than a bit of a mess. I appreciate the Minister of State’s intervention and him speaking to Uisce Éireann to try to get this sorted out. I welcome that Uisce Éireann will engage with the residents, and I am quite happy to follow up with them. I thank the Minister of State for his response.

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)
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I will elaborate a bit more. Uisce Éireann has a customer service function through its water charges plan and customer charter, which outlines the standard of services customers should expect to receive. It is open to any member of the public to lodge a formal complaint with Uisce Éireann if they are not happy with the service provided. Details on how to do so are on its website. Any issues that cannot be resolved by Uisce Éireann to the satisfaction of the customer can be referred, under the formal complaints process, to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. The details on this process can be found on the CRU website.

The Government’s priority is to ensure that people’s health is protected and that adequate water is available for all consumers. Both our water and wastewater systems require substantial and sustained investment over a number of investment cycles to bring the systems up to the quality of resilience standards required of a modern service to provide for population growth and to build resilience in the face of climate change. I assure the Deputy that the Government is delivering a sustainable funding path to further enhance the ongoing significant improvements in our public water and wastewater services.

Again, I have contacted Uisce Éireann and asked it to reach out to the residents to try to give them some information and satisfaction in terms of the path forward. However, the Deputy will understand based on the response I gave earlier that there are a whole host of legacy issues that, unfortunately, are not simply resolved overnight. I know this has taken time. If Uisce Éireann does not reach out to the residents, the Deputy should come back to me and we will ensure that communication happens.