High Mayo domestic water connection costs raised in Dáil

THE high cost of domestic water connections for households has been raised in the Dáil by Deputy Alan Dillon.

And he suggested department officials visit homes and see the challenges people face due to substandard water.

Questioning funding streams for rural water investment, the concern in Mayo, he said, centred around connection for domestic water use.

He told the Dáil: “I know the supports that are in place under improvements, refurbishment of private wells, etc., but it is critical that we start identifying the group water schemes that need to be connected to the public water supplies.

“There was a major issue regarding connection in Murrisk outside Westport. I would like some feedback on where this is in terms of funding and where works can commence.”

And, he continued, “a number of communities in north Mayo - Carrowteigue, Sraith an tSeagail, Portacloy, Porturlin, Keenagh and Letterbrick - are all crying out for funding.

“The biggest challenge they face is that when they submit their application for funding to the local authorities, the cost of domestic connection per household is too high. We need to remove the roadblocks here.”

People on the ground, he said, are receiving letters from local authorities. One stated that the 2019-21 multi-annual rural water programme allocation from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage had been received in October 2019 but the proposed community water connection did not receive any funding allocation. The expert panel that assessed all of the multi-annual rural water programme submissions considered that the unit cost was 'too expensive'.

Said Deputy Dillon: “These people are dealing with condemned water that they cannot drink. Their heating system cannot reach the required temperature. It is clogged with bog.

“If the department has not visited some of these households, it would be a very good lesson for it to see the challenges they must face.”

He continued: “It is really disappointing to see an underspend when there is significant demand out there.

“Local authorities do a tremendous job trying to get as many projects as possible across the line. People see TV ads where people are looking to donate €2 per week to supply a family with fresh water abroad but we have that challenge in Ireland. These people do not have domestic water that is fit for use, which is a crying shame.

“We are seen as a progressive country but many communities have been left behind in this regard and an action plan to address this as swiftly as possible needs to be put together by the department.”