“The contempt Irish Water shows for public representatives is staggering” says Councillor.
When Councillor Declan Power proposed a motion yesterday asking Louth County Council to call on senior management at Irish Water to meet with Councillors and officials to explain a litany of failures with the water supply, it struck a chord with everyone in the room – councillors and officials alike.
Following the burst water main at Staleen in 2017 which left Drogheda, South Louth and East Meath without water for over a week, Irish Water, or Uisce Éireann as they like to call themselves these days, spent €29 million on a water treatment plant at Staleen which they said would deliver a safe and secure drinking water supply to over 70,000 people in the area.
The problems didn’t all go away however and at yesterday’s Borough District meeting, Councillor Power outlined a long list of problems affecting people living in Clogherhead and Termonfeckin, especially at Castlecoo Hill and Strand Hill who, he said, have had to endure water supply problems regularly for over the past ten years.
“These (problems) will mainly happen in the winter when a burst pipe needs repairing or in summer when there is a dry spell due to warm weather” he said.
“We can all appreciate that this will happen and that action is required. However, the residents in Castlecoo Hill and Strand Hill have endured significant water problems and are most affected whenever there is an issue.
“Being on the end of a water line doesn’t help, but going three, four and as happened once in 2021, nine days without water is unacceptable.
“The residents in these areas are incredibly frustrated, angry and annoyed at how Uisce Éireann treats them and their families.”
Councillor Paddy McQuillan agreed that Irish Water should be brought in to address the Councillors directly “There has been no communication whatsoever from Irish Water” he said.
Councillor Kevin Callan said that the contempt that Irish Water shows for public representatives is staggering. “Drogheda is the largest town in Ireland” he said, “but we have had to endure some nightmare scenarios with our water supply.”
Councillor Tom Cunningham (SF) complained that it is next to impossible to get information from Irish Water. “We need answers but when you contact Irish water you get no response” he said adding that he believed that Councillors were being told lies.
Sinn Féin Councillor Joanna Byrne said that she fully supported Cllr Power’s motion but the problems were not unique to Clogherhead. Referring to the burst main at Staleen in 2017 which left Drogheda without water for weeks whilst a new pipe line that was installed, she said that Irish water had told them at the time that the new supply would not be capable of satisfying the water needs of Drogheda.
Louth County Council’s Director of Services, Paddy Donnelly, told the meeting that members of the executive were equally frustrated in their attempts to secure a meeting with Irish Water.
“It has been challenging all along” he said. “I can understand the members’ frustrations. I will ensure that the Council writes to Irish Water asking them to attend the next Council meeting.”
