Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. He will be familiar with the fact that last summer there were two very serious E.coli outbreaks, one in Ballymore Eustace, which provides much of the water supplies of Kildare and Dublin, and the other in my home town of Gorey. There were 52 confirmed illnesses, and potentially more, as a result of those outbreaks and the difficulties that happened at the time. There has been an examination by the Environmental Protection Authority, EPA, of what happened. My understanding is that Wexford County Council's report on the matter has been finalised but has not yet been published because it must first go to a number of the parties that were identified. I hope it will be published in the very near future because it is important for the people for Gorey and everyone else that there is transparency in this process. There must be an understanding of what happened, accountability and, more, importantly, assurances that the events that happened will not happen again, either in Gorey or anywhere else. I am glad that a lot more precautionary boil water notices are being put in place. It is not very pleasant for people to be subject to such notices but I think they would rather receive notices than risk drinking water that is far from good quality.

At the time of the outbreaks, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, acted swiftly and ordered full inquiries. I was very happy with that. As part of that, he insisted on an audit of all the water treatment plants around the country, including the one in Gorey. The audit identified the changes that were necessary at Creagh. A commitment was given that there would quickly be an audit of the 20 largest water treatment plants in the country and that that would then be extended outwards because, of course, we have several hundred other treatment plants. One of the basic things any individual expects is that if they turn on their tap, they will have access to a good, reliable and clean water supply. I ask for an update on the audit of the 20 largest plants and where we stand regarding the audit of all the other plants.A clear indication was given to local authority and Irish Water staff that there would be refresher courses on this. I appreciate that the Minister of State cannot give an absolute guarantee that what happened before will never happen again. At the same time it is important for people in Gorey and others who have been affected that it be indicated clearly that everything is being done to ensure that lessons were learned from the events of last summer and that any discrepancies that have been picked up in Gorey and nationwide, are addressed.