Louth residents being ‘treated with disdain’ amid ‘serious risk to public health’

People in County Louth are being “treated with disdain” by Uisce Éireann, the Dáil has heard.

The issue was raised by Louth Fine Gael TD Paula Butterly during a recent debate on the public utility.

Deputy Butterly said: “We have water, water everywhere, except flowing through the pipes and down through the taps in County Louth.

“I am about to take the Minister of State on a whistle-stop tour, this time of County Louth.

“While I recognise that Uisce Éireann committed €28 million to Drogheda last year, the problems are so long and so vast that three minutes is not enough.”

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She pointed out that Louth County Council is ahead of its social housing targets, but the level of water infrastructure is not keeping pace.

She continued: “Constituents' concerns in Dundalk have been treated with what I can only describe as disdain.

“Following a recent meeting with constituents, serious concerns were again raised about the pump station and the treatment plant.

“Mount Avenue, Dundalk and Blackrock residents have continuously been in contact with Uisce Éireann and my office to talk about the capacity, or rather the lack of capacity.

“They do not believe the new developments will be fit for purpose as a result of the service failures.”

Deputy Butterly outlined the various issues with water services that have been raised by her constituents.

“There are chronic failures and delays. Communities across the county continue to face repeated water outages, bursts and wastewater contamination incidents.

“Without any binding repair timelines, these failures are undermining the confidence in new housing delivery and public services.

“Worst of all, perhaps, are the prolonged discharges of raw and partially treated wastewater into rivers and coastal waters.

“The Glyde, the Fane and the Boyne are just a few of the rivers, not to mention the streams, that continue to pose a serious risk to public health and environmental quality.”

She concluded by expressing her frustration at having to raise these issues on several occasions, adding that public representatives are “not being listened to”.

Minister of State Christopher O’Sullivan was present in the chamber on behalf of the Minister for Housing, James Browne.

While Minister O’Sullivan did not give a direct response to Deputy Butterly, he did provide a general response to all members.

He highlighted the work the Government has done to address water issues across the country, but acknowledged that there is much more to do.

He complimented Uisce Éireann on the “significant progress” it has made in that regard, but accepted that the utility is not perfect.

Minister O’Sullivan said: “We realise that Uisce Éireann certainly has not got everything right. We realise there is a necessity to focus on wastewater projects and water supply.

“The Minister and Ministers of State in the Department know there are towns, villages, cities and urban areas where improvements are needed or where basic infrastructure is needed.

“We know that some of these timelines are very hard to stomach and very frustrating but when we think about the various licences and permits that are needed, we can understand.”

He added that the Department will focus on reducing the amount of red tape involved in the delivery of water services.

Minister O’Sullivan concluded by saying that the Government will continue to support Uisce Éireann and the work it is doing nationwide.