Councillor promises to give both barrels to Irish Water

A MEMBER of the local authority has pledged to make his views known on the performance of Irish Water when representatives of the utility attend a public meeting of Clare County Council tomorrow (Thursday).  

Councillor Pat Hayes was among a number of members to express annoyance at the manner in which Irish Water treated the authority over an online briefing last month. He welcomed the fact that representatives have finally agreed to the in-person meeting this week. However, he said he would not hold back in telling Irish Water what he thought of the process to-date of consultation with the Council. “It’s just deplorable that we have to go through all this effort to try to get a public body to come to talk to us, when it’s trying to promote a scheme that is proposing to take water from the Shannon to supply the other side of the country,” he said. 

Councillor Hayes explained that his understanding is that there is only one item on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting – The Regional Water Resources Plan for the East and Midlands Region. That is despite the fact that concerns have repeatedly been raised by councillors, about multiple issues relating to water and wastewater services.

“We’re having to draw it out of them to see what’s going on,” he said. “I hope they’re open and fair about it. If not, it’s a complete farce in terms of the use of public money, if there isn’t engagement and the public can’t see what’s being said. Everybody has their views on the extraction of millions of litres of water, daily, from the Shannon. We don’t want glossy brochures telling us how great all of this is. We want the facts and the details about what this will mean for this region.”

The Fianna Fáil member said there are particular concerns about what the extraction could mean for the future development of the Midwest. “As I see it our region is going to be supplying water to the east and the growing part of the country,” he said. “We have to ask what the cost is for ourselves. We’re being told we’ll get upgrades but when you look at the track record of Irish Water in this county, you’d have to ask yourself if you’d have confidence in what they’re promising.”

Councillor Hayes also voiced concerns about the fact that other issues do not appear to be included on the agenda for discussion. 

“When we had our previous online meeting, there was a wider agenda and wastewater facilities were up for discussion,” he said. “There were no media allowed to attend. Now that the meeting is open, those things have been taken off the table. I will be letting Irish Water know, in no uncertain terms, what I think of the way they have treated the County Council so far.”

Last month, a number of Council members were sharply critical of Irish Water after an online meeting, when a number of logistical issues were encountered. At the time, Irish Water pledged to improve its consultation process and outlined a range of events online and in person. 

Irish Water is proposing to pipe the water from the Parteen Basin and pump it 170km to a termination point reservoir at in County Dublin, connecting into the Greater Dublin Area. An estimated 40% more treated water will be needed by 2044 in the Greater Dublin and Midlands areas.

A 13-week public consultation process closes on March 14. More information is available on Water.ie. 

ENDS