Tipperary TD slams Uisce Éireann as ‘not fit for purpose’ during Dáil debate

A TD in Tipperary has spoken about issues surrounding Uisce Éireann during a Dail motion this week regarding the companies infrastructure delivery, accountability and repair timelines.

Independent TD Seamus Healy criticised Uisce Éireann in his speech today.

"Irish Water is not fit for purpose. It should never have been established and it should now be abolished. It is hiding from the public. It has no public offices. It refuses to meet elected representatives in open, democratic forums like county council meetings. Consumers cannot meet any Irish Water official face to face.

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"Of course, they can report a problem to a call centre. They may get a report back in a week, a month or maybe not at all. Irish Water has contempt for consumers and councillors alike. It refuses to advise consumers of planned outages. The ESB can do it but Irish Water refuses to do it," said the TD.

Speaking about the long-standing issue of frequent boil-water notices in areas of Tipperary, he said: "Boil water notices are almost endemic in the system. In the past 12 months, there have been continuous boil water notices across south Tipperary, right from the Limerick border to the Kilkenny border.

"These have affected the towns of Tipperary, Ardfinnan, Cahir, Cashel, Clonmel and Carrick-on-Suir, lasting for two, three and even six months at a time. This is due to Irish Water's failure to have full-time caretakers at treatment plants, the lack of maintenance at those plants and the failure to provide them with alarm systems. There are also huge delays in dealing with burst water mains, particularly at weekends when Irish Water is reluctant to call out staff. Customers are left without water for days on end. Irish Water should be abolished and water and wastewater services returned to county councils," he said.

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Speaking about recent plans to bring hard water into Clonmel, Healy warned that the plans will have a detrimental affect on households in Clonmel.

"Irish Water proposes and is planning to bring hard water into the town of Clonmel. This has already caused huge problems and costs to families on the northern side of the town. Householders are forced to regularly replace all white goods, from washing machines and dishwashers to electric kettles and showers.

"They have had to install water softeners at significant installation and running costs. This is a huge issue for residents. Irish Water refuses to treat hard water at source," he warned. 

Finally, speaking about the companies latest proposal to bring water from the Parteen Basin on the Shannon to Dublin, Healy said that this plan 'defies logic'.

"It is a project which, from Irish Water's own projections, will cost between €4.5 billion and €6 billion. At least 33% of water in the Dublin area is lost through leaky pipes. The net effect of this proposal is that one third of the water coming to Dublin will be lost at a cost of between €1.5 billion and €2 billion annually."

The Tipperary South TD concluded his statement by calling for an anti-privatisation water referendum, which he says was promised back in 2016.