Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I thank the Cathaoirleach for providing me with the opportunity to raise with the Minister of State this evening the matter of the recent problem in the town of Mallow, in which a public water supply was deemed to be dangerous from a health perspective due to excessive quantities of lead. The problem was detected last Friday when Cork County Council, as part of its ongoing monitoring work, ascertained that in an area of the town of Mallow called Beecher Street, the water supply serving a number of houses was dangerous due to an excess quantity of lead. The mains water supply was being provided through the old type of lead piping and a number of houses that obtained water from that mains source were found to have excessive quantities of lead in their domestic supply. While I acknowledge that not all the houses on the street were found to have excessive lead quantities in their domestic supply, a number were. Obviously, the council was obliged to take immediate action and did so very rapidly and successfully by providing an alternative short-term water supply source to the local residents. It now has taken the correct decision to replace the lead piping and it is to be hoped this work, which is about to commence, will be concluded in the next week or two.

The matter was of great concern to the local community and is of concern to other communities within the town of Mallow. Cork County Council and Mallow Town Council now are investigating the water supply in other parts of the town because it is possible that some areas, particularly where water schemes were put in place before the 1970s, also have systems using lead piping that may have contamination problems. The Minister of State will appreciate that in Mallow, as in Galway and other towns throughout the country, lead contamination of the water supply is a cause for concern which must be responded to. The immediate cost to Cork County Council in responding to this difficulty probably is in the region of €50,000 to €100,000. However, that may cover only the first phase of the solution because if other parts of the town are found to have a similar problem, it will be necessary to put in place a solution. The Minister of State will appreciate that all local authority budgets are under financial stress at present and although such an issue must be remedied and paid for, it constitutes a financial burden on the council.

The office of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government should work with the local authorities in the Mallow area, namely, Cork County Council and Mallow Town Council, to attempt to resolve the problem. It also should work with any other affected local authority nationwide. The lead contamination of water in Mallow, Galway and, apparently, in a number of other towns demonstrates clearly that a national audit of water schemes and supplies is required to ensure the quality of drinking water is not simply of a reasonable standard but is of a standard that is beyond doubt from a health perspective.

The Minister of State's colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, also should avail of the present opportunity to advise users of private water sources that they should have their water systems checked out to ensure the water they consume is safe. A campaign, possibly led and financed by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to put in place such a scheme is probably required.

My immediate concern, however, relates to the town of Mallow. I congratulate the officials of Cork County Council on, and thank them for, their speedy response. They set about the detection of this problem and once they succeeded in so doing, they began to resolve the matter and that work now is under way. The county council has been very up-front in this regard and its actions have been lauded by the people of Mallow, who appreciate its initiative. Ultimately, however, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has a responsibility to ensure that all local authorities follow best practice and investigate all water sources that are being used for domestic supply, as well as to ensure that such supplies are beyond reproach from a health perspective. In addition, hundreds of thousands of people use non-public water supplies that come from private sources and such people also must be encouraged to check their water sources and wells to ensure there is no contamination of any description.