Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has said that the reluctance to improve our water infrastructure is directly affecting existing homes that can go without water for days in some parts of south Dublin and also prevents us from building much needed homes.

Teachta Crowe also criticised Irish Water for allowing a steady decline in the quality in the surface water of our rivers and lakes since its formation.

Speaking in the Dáil yesterday, Teachta Crowe said:

“Areas in my Dublin constituency are regularly without water for hours and days on end. Last year, in Knocklyon, over a bank holiday weekend, some areas did not have water for up to six days. Our water infrastructure simply is not up to scratch and it is down to a lack of investment.

“From an inability to provide water to existing homes or to provide for the thousands of future homes we desperately need, I think we all agree that the network is antiquated and dilapidated. Improvements in supply are coming too slowly and it is having a knock-on effect down the line, preventing new housing from being built.

“Our waterways are increasingly being polluted with urban wastewater being pumped directly into the rivers that we rely on for our drinking water. Both sides of the water infrastructure, water and wastewater, are the responsibility of Irish Water and both are being let fall apart. Since Irish Water was formed, the quality of our rivers and lakes has got worse, not better. We have not a hope of reaching our EU targets for surface quality by 2027, and we are further away than when we started.

“Irish Water must be more proactive in protecting our waterways rather than just a few targeted actions. It must be empowered and resourced to dictate the protection of our rivers, lakes and coastal lagoons. Forestry and farming have serious impacts on our water quality, and Irish Water cannot limit itself to simply picking up the pieces after the fact.

“There is a huge job of work to be done and it is required in our water services. From communications to policy to infrastructure, there is nowhere they cannot have an improvement. People in Knocklyon and hundreds of other communities that face outrageous services or boil water notices each year deserve a lot better than they are getting.”