Louth councillor Pearse McGeough "dismayed" that water works will not be completed until the end of 2028

Sinn Féin Councillor Pearse McGeough has said he is “disappointed and dismayed that remedial works due to take place at Greenmount Water Treatment plant will not be completed until the end of 2028 leaving almost 4,000 households with no certainty of a consistent, safe water supply.”

Cllr McGeough said: “The Greenmount plant services almost 4,000 households around Castlebellingham, Kilsaran, Dunleer and surrounding areas.

"Following an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report at the end of 2023, Greenmount, Cavanhill and Tallanstown were named as those in need of remedial works due to the detection of persistent trihalomethanes (THMs), Greenmount also had pesticide failures detected.”

Cllr McGeough said he was “dismayed to learn following a question he posed to Irish Water, that the vital remedial works will not be completed until the end of 2028 despite the EPA reporting a completion date for the middle of 2026. This is despite these remedial works being identified in the first half of 2019".

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He continued: “How much longer can Irish Water kick the can down the road?

"This is the 21^st century and people should expect a consistent supply of safe water but as many in mid-Louth will tell you, it is neither safe nor consistent.

“On Christmas morning 2023 the water went off in parts of Mid-Louth and did not return until New Year’s Day with little or no communication from Irish Water.

"Wastewater treatment in Ireland is not fit for purpose and it is the people who are suffering.

"The people of Louth deserve better than patchwork fixes every time there is a problem.

"There seems to be a lack of willingness to invest in the upgrade of the Water infrastructure and yet we have Taoiseach Simon Harris telling us we are a wealthy country and how much better off we are.

“Almost 4,000 households now have to wait another 4 years for remedial works to be carried out but how many more problems will the lack of investment into the infrastructure cause before then?

"It’s just not good enough; our health and water supply are being held to ransom by Irish Water and government inaction.”