Cllr: With Uisce Éireann ‘I might as well be writing to Santa’
Cork county councillors have pulled no punches in their assessment of Uisce Éireann, describing the utility as a “secret society” as thousands of East Cork residents remain without safe drinking water.
At Tuesday’s full council meeting, elected members took turns venting their frustration at Uisce Éireann - formerly Irish Water - over an ongoing boil water notice affecting over 10,000 people across Youghal and surrounding areas since last Friday.
One of the main issues among councillors was the utility’s notoriously poor communication, both to customers and to the council.
Raising the issue under Any Other Business at the meeting, Independent councillor for East Cork, Mary Linehan Foley said Uisce Éireann had failed to provide basic updates and urged the council to demand immediate relief for vulnerable locals.
“Can Uisce Éireann step in and make sure that there's bottled water available for all our constituents because I think, to be fair, that's the least that they can do for us under the circumstances,” said the councillor.
Her sentiments were echoed across the chamber with fellow East Cork councillor Ann Marie Ahern (Fianna Fáil) blasting the utility for leaving residents to consume contaminated water before issuing a warning.
She said: “We're notified well after the fact of a boil water notice being put in place with limited communication not being sent out to residents until hours after the boil water notice was actually in effect, so, a lot of people had used the water without knowing it was actually in a boil water notice.”
Briefly bringing attention further west, Macroom councillor Kate Lynch (Fine Gael) noted that Courtbrack village is just coming up to its 12 month anniversary on a boil water notice, and said that when it comes to dealing with Uisce Éireann, she “might as well be writing to Santa”.
She said: “Absolutely ridiculous. No water supplied to them, no bottle, no tank, no nothing. And they're just coming up their 12 months now come November on a boil water notice.”
Moving back east, Cobh councillor Sinead Sheppard (FG) also voiced frustration, describing the ongoing turmoil as “just another example of the actual farce of Irish Water”.
“I don't think I've ever been involved in anything with them that's actually gone correctly with communication. It's just not acceptable that this is going on. A boil water notice and councillors and constituents not even knowing what's going on,” said Cllr Sheppard.
In response to the concern, Uisce Éireann issued a statement assuring that public heath is the utility’s priority and that it understands how disruptive and inconvenient a boil water notice is for homes and businesses.
A statement read: “The notice was issued on Friday 23 October, following a deterioration in raw water quality, which caused increased turbidity, or cloudiness, and affected the drinking water treatment process. Our drinking water experts are working to restore normal water quality and lift the notice quickly and safely as possible.
“Our aim is to share the boil water notice information as widely as possible. A press release was issued last Friday to media, relevant elected representatives and community contacts in Cork and Waterford.
“The notice was also posted on our website and shared through text alerts. We recognise the importance of clear, timely information for the community and its elected representatives.”
Cork County Council agreed to write formally to Uisce Éireann demanding answers and a designated liaison officer for Cork.