Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 23:

In page 9, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following:"(g) to recommend that Irish Water can issue public health notices in respect of water quality.".

Táimid ag plé an gaol agus an ról atá ag an bhfóram uisce poiblí. I note that the role of the public water forum in most cases will be to make "comments and suggestions in relation to the performance by Irish Water of its functions". We are suggesting in this amendment that the forum should be able "to recommend that Irish Water can issue public health notices in respect of water quality". Perhaps the best way to illustrate how extremely important this is would be to mention an example to which I have previously alluded and which encapsulates what I am trying to say. The existence of trihalomethanes, TTHMs, in our public water supply is a very serious issue. I understand that over 30% of this country's water supply is in exceedance of that. We have been campaigning for over 40 years for the overhaul of a water scheme that serves the Carraroe area of Connemara. We moved through the first phase of that process, which involved putting down water pipes, and we have moved on to replacing the water source in Carraroe itself. The plan was to go to a clean water supply with a new pump station as a second phase. That was agreed with Galway County Council and planning permission was given. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government was fully on board until Irish Water came along and decided to review the matter. Now we have been told it is to be shelved completely, apparently because the water supply in Carraroe is suitable for the needs of public consumption and can be topped up with water from Spiddal and Galway.
Some very good research on the water supply in Carraroe has been done by Raidió na Gaeltachta and others. Carraroe was initially sidelined because the State lost a case in Europe against the quality of the water being provided to people there and, as a consequence, had to put remedial action in place. We have found out that the level of TTHMs in the local water supply has been in exceedance on over 95% of the tests done since 2008. We were told that last year's upgrade, which cost almost €1 million, would bring the water quality up to standard. Obviously, that has not happened. We have found out - we had to drag the information kicking and screaming from the EPA and the county council, etc. - that there has been an issue there since 2008 about which we were not told. We have contacted the EPA, the county council and the HSE to try to find out why local people have not been told about this issue. When we contacted the HSE, we were told it is the responsibility of Irish Water to announce that the water is not of sufficient quality. When we contacted Irish Water, we were told it is the responsibility of the HSE to make a pronouncement on the quality of the water and on whether a boil notice or some other notice needs to be put in place.

It seems to be a very grey area. I suggest that where ongoing testing of a water source finds an excessive level of trihalomethanes or THMs that it needs to be proscribed. I suggest that if monthly testing is done and the water fails five tests then it should lead to a red flag scenario and a public health notice must be issued. At the moment the HSE cannot give us a sense of how long a water supply must exceed THM levels for it to pose a danger to people.

Let me explain the health issue. Irish Water is blue in the face saying that this THM issue is not a major one but I beg to differ. THM in water has only been measured here since 2008 and no testing was done pre-2008. Causal links have been proven in a number of different international studies which show that THM is a carcinogen. THMs are caused by a reaction between chlorine, that is added to the water, and the organic matter in the water. It is only in cases where more chlorine is added that more THM is created in the water supply. No direct correlation has been proven as of yet. Statistics released last week show there is a 17% increased prevalence of stomach and intestinal cancer in the Carraroe region which stretches from Carraroe to Lettermullen and to Ceantar na n-Oileán. Nobody has created a link but people living in the community feel there may be a link between THMs and the high risk of cancer in the area.

We tabled the amendment as there are genuine causes for concern among the community. It would appear that the HSE has kicked the issue into touch. It is reluctant to raise awareness about the issue and will not tell us how long is too long for a person to ingest or shower using a source of water that contains THMs. Such water affects a person internally if it is consumed. It can also affect a person who uses the water to shower because a person can develop skin cancers.

The forum could play a useful role in this area if it is given evidence of an incursion by THMs or something like it. We are not talking about a reading being a little over the acceptable level of 100. In some cases the level in the water tested was 200% over the agreed WHO levels. The EPA has instructed Irish Water to resolve the matter. The latter has told us the matter it will not be resolved until February 2016 but the EPA has told Irish Water that it must be remedied by November 2015. We suggest some kind of barrier is put in place to remove THMs from water immediately because such technologies are available.

Our amendment states the forum can "recommend that Irish Water can issue public health notices". We should push the company to do so in areas where there is serious concern and definite evidence relating to water safety. People are genuinely concerned about whether water is safe to use. Irish Water wants to brush the issue under the carpet because 30% of the water supplied across the country exceeds the approved THM level. Irish Water does not want that fact known too publicly because it is not in a position to address the matter.

I have given examples of the issues involved and hope the Minister takes them on board. I appreciate that there are statutory functions for the HSE in terms of E. coli, etc., but we think there are other areas and issues where public health notices must be issued. People have a right to know what type of water they are consuming and the long-term and short-term impacts of same. I would go further and suggest more research be done into the causal connections between the level of THMs in water and the incidence of cancer in certain areas. My party would happily support the Minister using Connemara as a test case scenario. Go raibh maith agat.