Irish Water took two years to reply to query from councillor

LOCAL councillors have branded communications from Uisce Éireann (formerly Irish Water) ‘brutal’ and fear it is going to get worse. 

Under an agreement between Cork County Council and Uisce Éireann, all water services functions have been transferred back to Uisce Éireann.  Uisce Éireann is now solely responsible for the delivery of all water services in the county, as well as the management of water services staff in the Council. 

Cllr John O’Sullivan (FG) expressed concerns about getting even less information about water related services, now that all staff have been transferred. At a Western Divisional Committee meeting last week, he said that Uisce Éireann is not engaging with public representatives as it is, and now he fears it will get even worse. 

Cllr O’Sullivan said that a query he sent to Uisce Éireann two years ago was not fully dealt with until last week. Cllr Paul Hayes (Ind) agreed, stating that the little communication councillors have with the water services body has been brutal, and now public representatives will now be getting even less information. 

Cork County Council previously provided brief updates on water services at meetings and the councillors would then have to liaise with Uisce Éireann directly, Cllr Hayes explained. But now, the Council will not be providing updates to councillors and all information will come directly from Uisce Éireann. 

This is a cause of concern for local politicians. Uisce Éireann meets with councillors at clinics two or three times a year – but beyond that it is virtually impossible to get a response from them, Cllr Hayes claimed. 

‘Despite asking Irish Water loads of times to come in and meet us at meetings so we could ask them questions about various projects, they refused, essentially, and said they were just available at the clinics,’ said Cllr Hayes. 

A query sent to Uisce Éireann by Cllr Hayes regarding the need for a waste water treatment plan in Clonakilty, more than a month ago, remains unanswered. 

He said there has been raw sewage running into Clonakilty bay and this has led to several reports of a bad odour in the locality – including alerts from the Model Railway Village in Clonakilty about the stench in town. 

There were situations during the summer where the smell was so bad that staff at the Model Railway Village were leaving work with headaches and feeling nauseous, the councillor claimed. He said that the tourist centre shouldn’t have had to put up with the unbearable smell,  but the lack of a response from Uisce Éireann appears that they have to.  

‘Irish Water have had briefings with councillors in recent months saying that they are going to improve communication,’ said Cllr Hayes. ‘But we’ve been emailing them and bringing issues to them and it’s weeks later that we might get a reply – if any.’