Frustration as boil water notice issued last year still not lifted in East Cork

A Cork TD has voiced his frustration at the responses of Government and Uisce Éireann to his questions about boil water notices in East Cork, saying they have “really tipped me over the edge”.

Pat Buckley, Sinn Féin TD for Cork East, said he has found it “extremely frustrating” getting responses to parliamentary questions and requests for meetings with the water utility company.

The current boil water notice in place at Whitegate was issued on October 18 of last year, and has yet to be lifted, and it came after an earlier boil notice which was issued for Whitegate on October 29, 2022, and was lifted on July 10, 2023.

“I have been raising the boil water notices in Whitegate and the surrounding areas since I was first elected to the Dáil in 2016,” Mr Buckley told The Echo.

“What really tipped me over the edge was when I received a response to a parliamentary question regarding the ongoing boil water notices for Whitegate water system which covers almost 10,000 people.”

The response, which came through the office of the Ceann Comhairle, was to a question submitted by Mr Buckley to Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien. Mr Buckley had asked for a timeline for an the Whitegate water supply, and had also asked how many weeks the area has been under boil water notices.

In a response described by Mr Buckley as “a kick in the teeth”, the Department of Housing had said Mr O’Brien had no responsibility for Uisce Éireann’s operational matters and referred Mr Buckley to the water utility.

“I’ve also asked Uisce Éireann for a meeting one to one but that also seems to be a long way away, but I will continue to explore every avenue to get answers to the many questions my constituents have raised with me. However, I am now of the opinion that Uisce Éireann has abandoned the people of East Cork.”

A spokesperson for Uisce Éireann said the company has commenced a €22m upgrade at the Whitegate Water Treatment Plant, which it said “will address the frequent boil water notices that the people of East Cork have experienced over the last number of years”.

The company said elected representatives, among them Mr Buckley, had been updated about the upgrade in July and again on September 13.

“The planned upgrade will ensure a safe, secure, and reliable supply of drinking water to approximately 10,300 customers served by the Whitegate Regional Water Supply,” the spokesperson said.

“Works will include decommissioning of the old Kilva Water Treatment Plant and building a new water treatment plant that will be able to treat approximately six million litres of water per day.”

Uisce Éireann said public health remains its “number one priority” and said its drinking water standards, as per EU drinking water regulations, are strict and include wide safety margins.

“Where risks to water quality are identified through Uisce Éireann’s enhanced testing and monitoring programme, the HSE are consulted, and boil water notices are issued to protect public health,” they said.