Tipperary councillor says ‘Irish Water are about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike’

The latest Nenagh Municipal District housing report revealed that 70 homes under construction in the Nenagh MD are currently being held up by Uisce Éireann.

The status of the 70 new homes is written as “On Hold - Uisce Éireann” in the report with the next stage listed for each as “UE Connection Confirmation”.

The sites for these homes are as follows:

Rialto Site, Nenagh - 13 homes;
William Street, Nenagh - 7 homes;
New Line Road, Nenagh - 10 homes;
Millersbrook, Nenagh - 13 homes;
Gortlandroe, Nenagh - 27 homes.

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A further 21 homes in the village of Puckane are listed as currently needing a utility connection viability review which will also presumably go through Uisce Eireann.

At the March meeting of the Nenagh Municipal District, several councillors called out Uisce Éireann for these hold ups with Cllr Seamus Morris asking what sanctions do councillors have against Irish Water in an effort to try and find a way to get through to the water body and find a solution to the issue.

Cllr Joe Hannigan shared his sentiment saying: “I want an Uisce Éireann rep to come down and talk to us about what the hold up is.

“Cllr Morris is dead right, I have heard of a situation where over 30 houses are good to go but Uisce Éireann is holding it all up.”

Cllr Morris picked back up on his point saying: “I thought we had a bit of a backbone when it comes to Irish Water. They are about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike.

“We should make an official complaint to them and stand up for the people that can’t get a roof over their heads.”

In an email written directly to Irish Water following this meeting, Cllr Morris says: “I Cllr Séamie Morris of Tipperary county council wish to make a formal complaint to Uisce Eireann for breaking the commitment made to Tipperary County Council on January 27 2022 to have a planning application for the upgrade of the WWTP in Nenagh in by Q1 20023 with contract awarded by Q2023 and completion by 2026.

“The fact that this has not happened is seriously holding back the development of Nenagh. And maybe a breach of contract. I would like an explanation as to why the commitment was broken.”

He has since added an amendment to his initial email that Cllrs JP O’Meara and Phyll Bugler have co-signed this complaint.

In a Facebook post following this Cllr Morris wrote: “Uisce Eireann should be sued for breach of contract over the delay in upgrading the Nenagh WWTP which was supposed to be started 2024. This has seen over 90 social houses in Nenagh stopped due to the ineptitude of Uisce Eireann and county councils have pussyfooted around them for too long.”

Multiple reports by media outlets in recent months have illustrated the stalemate the country is at when it comes to the Government’s ambitious housing targets.

In recent months, Uisce Eireann said they needed €120 billion to fix the country’s water infrastructure. It was also reported last year that with the funding they currently have, they are only able to supply 35,000 new homes per year over the next five years. This is distinctly contradictory to Ireland’s housing targets of 300,000 new homes by 2030 or an average of 60,000 homes per year for the next five years.

It’s clear that the issues in Irish Water need to be addressed for the growing housing crisis to get close to being solved.

The Nenagh district is far from the only one suffering but it’s councillors are doing a good job of using the area to illustrate the problems that are ongoing between Irish Water and the Government’s housing efforts.