TD flags concerns over Kilkenny areas being left without water supply for days

A local TD has said Irish Water cannot stand over a situation whereby local households are left without potable water for days at a time.

Fine Gael's John Paul Phelan was speaking in the Dáil following an address by Minister of State Malcolm Noonan on the topic of water policy.

Deputy Noonan said that Irish Water and local authorities had made real progress in consolidating public water systems nationwide, and there was now a coherent national approach to water services and a stronger capacity to deliver and manage investment in services. 

"Last month, the EPA published its most recent assessment of water quality in Ireland and updated trends up to the end of 2021," said the Green Party TD.

"The report identifies some areas of improvement, but in too many areas the trends are going in the wrong direction. The main risk to water quality continues to be excess nutrients, mostly phosphorus and nitrogen, in our rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal areas."

Speaking later, Deputy Phelan said that the Minister of State would be aware of some of the deficiency issues in Kilkenny.

"We have boil water notices quite regularly, alas, in places like Clogh, Moneenroe and Castlecomer in north Kilkenny. In recent days we have even had notices for the Bennettsbridge and Ballyragget supplies," he said.

"The notices have been lifted but thousands of houses being left without a supply of water for a period of days is not a situation any organisation, including Irish Water, can stand over."

The Fine Gael TD voiced support for a proposal to see Irish Water drawing up and confirming lists of works that need to be done on both water and wastewater treatment.

"It does not need to be an exact list with the full details and costs but it must have a rough estimate of costings for works that are outstanding and need to be done. Those are figure Irish Water should already have rough estimates of within the organisation. It would be a very welcome development," he said.

"On wastewater treatment specifically, Deputies, including the acting Chair, have outlined the villages and towns across the country that continue to pump raw sewage or almost completely untreated sewage into public waterways or the sea. That position is untenable into the future and Irish Water should include that in any list of necessary measures it draws up."

Minister of State Malcolm Noonan said that Irish Water's capacity to deliver significant capital investment programmes at scale is critical to plans to reduce the impact from insufficiently treated wastewater discharges over time and would allow Ireland to entirely eliminate the outdated practice of discharging untreated sewage.

"The new Water Environment (Abstractions and Associated Impoundments) Bill 2022, currently before the Oireachtas, will modernise our legal framework in respect of abstraction, impoundments and other physical changes to water courses," he said.