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Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

Mr. Thomas Carney: I wish everyone a good afternoon. I am sorry; I have a little cold. Esteemed committee members, I am here to speak on behalf of the resilient community of Cleragh, situated in Kiltimagh, County Mayo. Over the span of 12 years, our village, which is comprised of more than 30 homes, has persevered through arduous trials in the pursuit of securing a reliable water source....

Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

...giving me the opportunity to speak to them today. My name is Alan Ivers. I was born and raised in a village in the Cleragh-Lisduff area. I grew up in a family of 13 in a house with no running water but that was in the 1980s. We are now in 2024 and I still cannot believe we are in exactly the same situation whereby homes have no access to clean water. I am lucky to live at the upper...

Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I thank the Cathaoirleach for allowing me to attend the committee today to discuss this issue. I am not a permanent member of the committee, but I obviously wanted to be here. I am glad to have heard Mr. Thomas Carney and Mr. Alan Ivers give their submissions. As they know, I am very familiar with the scheme and the challenges that have been posed over the last number of years. You do not...

Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Okay. At this stage, therefore, we do not know how much the connection fee will be or whether it is consistent with connection fees for other group water schemes in Mayo or the west. We would like to try to clear up how much the connection fee will be, what that connection fee will be made up of and for how long people have to pay for it. It was my understanding that the connection fee has...

Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: It is my understanding that the studies would be done prior to the application being made to Irish Water. Is that so? Can we take it that all the necessary studies have been done at this stage? Planning permission has been granted. We are now at a stage where Irish Water has accepted an amount that needs to be submitted for the cost of the overall scheme so that adequate funding is in...

Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

Mr. Thomas Carney: Well, that is what should be done. When we were advised we had to have a committee we set up a committee. We followed through 100% on our end of the agreement with whatever was wanted. All through Covid, we did all the footwork because staff had to be at home to be safe. We went around and got signatures, commitments and easements where the piping was going to go. We...

Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Hopefully we will get clarification today on where we are at in regard to the scheme and what needs to be done. I hope we will also get a defined timeline so people will know exactly when they can expect to have water. I agree that it is an intolerable situation that Kiltimagh, Cleragh or any other area is without water at this stage. The interface between the group water schemes, Irish...

Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

Mr. Thomas Carney: If we want to keep villages populated and houses from being abandoned or boarded up we have to provide basic services. This year we will probably have a very dry summer. Mr. Ivers's tenants will be on the council's list for a house or they will be in a hotel somewhere or Breaffy House. This is what is happening. If we want to keep villages whole and functioning we...

Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I agree. I am part of group water scheme myself. I am in the Drum-Binghamstown group water scheme. I want to take this opportunity to commend all of the volunteers in the group water schemes in Mayo and throughout the country. I will speak again to Irish Water, as I have spoken to it before, about the write-off of the debts on some of these schemes. We cannot expect volunteers to...

Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for coming to the committee. She is not a member and it shows a great interest in her community. I have a question for Mr. Carney. He mentioned the cost of freedom of information requests. He mentioned the figure of €351, if I am not mistaken. How much in total has he spent on FOIs at this point in time?

Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: In recent days the Taoiseach made a speech about people in this country who find themselves up against "city hall". It was specifically in relation to the Stardust. I cannot understand how any organisation would force a community to go down the FOI route to get answers to simple questions that should be answered by default. The local authority is there to serve the community and not to...

Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

Mr. Thomas Carney: It was passed on to us that it had increased to €3,000. For sure there is a cost of at least €1,350 which was what we were told in the letter to each house. That is what convinced everybody to go for the water scheme. Now this has increased to €3,000 because of costs such as staff time and everything else that goes with it. We know for sure it...

Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

Mr. Thomas Carney: That is 100% accurate. If we wait long enough prices increase. The miscommunication, the dithering, the sitting on the fence and the inaction have created financial problems. This problem has not be caused by us. Nothing the committee will hear today will show that we did not do our part. My understanding from when Ms Bourke first walked the village with us was that...

Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: During dry periods. I do not know if Mr. Ivers is qualified to answer this or not. Are there health and safety issues in transferring water from one source to another place? For example, regarding the methodology used for transportation, and I do not mean to put Mr. Ivers on the spot. I am concerned about the consumers of the water he draws, whether it is drawn in suitable containers, how...

Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: ...did not. He gave it straight as it is. Fair play to him for looking after those who are in the house and for doing the best he can. There is a question with respect to people's health being put at risk. I am sure, from listening to Mr. Ivers, that he has warned the family involved that they cannot drink the water.

Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

Martin Browne: I just want to say a few words and then I will let Mr. Carney in. In this day and age, to have a whole community without water is a disgrace. I was on a county council and I know that all the talk is about clusters and bringing people from the big urban areas to rural areas, but people cannot settle in any area, rural or urban, without water. Like Mr. Ivers, I grew up in a family of 11...

Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

Mr. Thomas Carney: To follow up on that, I made a freedom of information request to Irish Water concerning all of the allocations and connections issued while our application was sitting on the desk. Almost 50 connections were granted to the town of Kiltimagh for housing estates and different projects. We were told that our project did not have flow and capacity yet 50 were given out and...

Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

Mr. Alan Ivers: This is the third time it has gone out for tender. The other two times, we were told it was going out for tender but, at the last minute, it was pulled because there was something wrong and it did not go for tender. This time, it has gone for tender and they have got prices back. This is where the high prices are coming from, which means the households will need to pay...

Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

Sitting suspended at 2.34 p.m. and resumed at 2.44 p.m.

Committee on Public Petitions: Public Petition on Kiltimagh Water Scheme: Discussion (25 Apr 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I am sorry to interrupt. I read the statement. What relevance does it have to the discussion today? It sets out the Department's position with respect to water and the only thing it offers at the end is that the final or second last paragraph tells us that no application has been made by Mayo County Council for this water scheme. I do not mean to cut off Mr. Kelly. He put a lot of work...