Sinn Féin spokesperson on Water Eoin Ó Broin TD has called for the Housing, Local Government & Heritage Committee to be urgently convened to discuss the findings of the Drinking Water Quality in Public Supplies Report 2019 published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this morning.

Teachta Ó Broin said:

“The EPA Drinking Water Quality in Public Supplies Report 2019 highlights that while the quality of drinking water in the majority public supplies remains high, 52 treatment plants suppling water to over one million people are vulnerable to failure.

“The EPA has also stated that there are 52 water supplies with significant issues on its remedial action list at the end of 2019.

“The Leixlip water treatment plant which suffered multiple failures last year affecting more than 600,000 people has been added to the list.

“Funding must be put in place to prioritise the remediation of these plants.

“It was concerning to hear that €100m was cut from Irish Water’s capital budget for 2020.

“With other revenue streams also down it is clear the lack of adequate funding is impacting on Irish Water’s capacity to fix the plants.

“An urgent meeting of the Oireachtas Housing, Local Government and Heritage Committee is now required so we can hear from all the stakeholders involved as to what needs to be done to fix the problem.

“The EPA, Irish Water and the water section of the Department should be invited to attend and I will raise this with the relevant Oireachtas authorities today.”