Mattie McGrath: Tipperary Water Crisis - Irish Water Out of Control
Mattie McGrath warns that South Tipperary has reached a water crisis after 58 supply interruptions since January affecting 11,000 customers, and nearly 28,000 homes and businesses placed on a boil water notice in a single week. He details repeated outages in Tipperary town and households left without water for cooking, washing and caring for grandchildren, and directly criticises Irish Water.
Mattie McGrath outlines failures in the Regional Water Scheme and lists communities hit by outages. He cites 58 interruptions since January, 11,000 customers affected and almost 28,000 properties on a boil water notice during one week as evidence of a systemic problem in South Tipperary.
McGrath shares a constituent's experience: no water pressure, attic tanks not filling, no water for basic needs and families forced to cope without running water before any hosepipe ban could even be considered. He stresses the day-to-day hardship for households, including those with grandchildren.
McGrath challenges Irish Water and reports that the Tánaiste indicated she might intervene. A Government representative acknowledged serious issues in South Tipperary, said the matter will be raised with Irish Water and referenced substantial equity and investment in Irish Water under the National Development Plan. McGrath seeks a concrete update on actions and timelines.
What happened
Mattie McGrath outlines failures in the Regional Water Scheme and lists communities hit by outages. He cites 58 interruptions since January, 11,000 customers affected and almost 28,000 properties on a boil water notice during one week as evidence of a systemic problem in South Tipperary.
Local impact
McGrath shares a constituent's experience: no water pressure, attic tanks not filling, no water for basic needs and families forced to cope without running water before any hosepipe ban could even be considered. He stresses the day-to-day hardship for households, including those with grandchildren.
Government response and next steps
McGrath challenges Irish Water and reports that the Tánaiste indicated she might intervene. A Government representative acknowledged serious issues in South Tipperary, said the matter will be raised with Irish Water and referenced substantial equity and investment in Irish Water under the National Development Plan. McGrath seeks a concrete update on actions and timelines.
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Transcript
The situation in South Tipperary has reached crisis points. Since January, the Finland Regional Water Scheme has experienced 58 water supply interruptions, affecting 11,000 customers, while almost 28,000 homes and businesses were placed on a boil water notice in a single week. On a consistent basis, the water has stopped. On over Tipperary town, a boil water notice since last February, no sign of being lifted. One constituent summed up the frustration. No water pressure yet again today, and a house full of grandchildren. The tank is not filling, that's the attic tank, so there is no water for cooking, showers or washing clothes. All of this before a hosepipe ban. It would be great to have water to ban, to have a hosepipe ban. Irish water are totally out of control. And you know what happened, the Tánaiste gave me some hope a few weeks ago that she might do something. They're not acting for anybody. They're committing sabotage on the Finland Regional Water Scheme, Denary, Plantain, Clann Mell, now they're going on to the Gatsby's, they're causing havoc. The words of us haven't been full, but... ...Teeshock to respond. And... Deputy McGrath, Teeshock to respond. Thank you very much, Deputy McGrath. I do acknowledge and accept that there are very serious issues across South Tipperary in respect of water outages and boil water notices. I will raise the issue with Irish water. We have allocated very substantial equity and investment into Irish water, particularly in the context of the National Development Plan, and I will get an update for you in respect of this.