Inishowen councillors to meet Uisce Eireann over 'antiquated asbestos burst pipes'

Residents in Inishowen faced another round of water outages this week as local councillors are expected to express their growing frustration over continuous burst pipes at a planned meeting with Uisce Eireann in early September.

This Tuesday was the third day in a row that the “antiquated asbestos pipe” has burst in Tooban, leading to several homes and businesses in the area being without water. 

South Inishowen Councillor Jack Murray said the outages in Tooban, like other affected places throughout the peninsula,  are the result of a lack of investment in “our community infrastructure compounded with a stretched workforce to respond to the problems that inevitably arise.”

“These issues keep arising because these are old, antiquated asbestos pipes that need replacing. Delays in getting the repairs done are happening because there's a shortage of staff in the area. The staff are stretched and the local community is suffering the consequences of that.”

Councillors will be meeting with Irish Water management in September, and Councillor Murray said South Inishowen  representatives will undoubtedly make a “united front in voicing demands for proper investment in recruitment of staff and replacement of these pipes that are clearly not fit for purpose.”

The Sinn Féin Councillor said these burst pipes and outages “wouldn't be tolerated in places like Dublin, and it certainly won't be tolerated here.”

“Children are returning to school, parents are trying to get kids washed, and we have elderly and sick people who clearly need water. It's much more than an inconvenience, but an extremely serious problem for people. That is why it is unacceptable that these bursts could be expected to happen anywhere three days in a row; it is just intolerable.”

The Inishowen councillor believes that water services should return under the control of Local Authorities. 

“I have always maintained since the establishment of Irish Water that the further you take decision-making and control away from people who know the area the best, was always going to lead to it being a disaster, and we have seen the outworkings of that.”

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Councillor Joy Beard echoed the comments of her fellow councillor and said these outages are now the “norm in Inishowen, and it is totally unacceptable. Water is not a privilege – it is a basic human right.”

On Tuesday morning, the 100% Redress Councillor said she was in contact with Uisce Eireann who told her that they are investigating the problem in Tooban, but Councillor Beard said that’s “no good to the residents who are waking up three mornings in a row with no water. Due to a lack of investment by our government for many years, this is the result of that.”

“I have businesses that are contacting me that are relying on tourist trade over the summer, and they've had to turn people away because there's no water.”

“Ultimately, it is costing these businesses. They're having to turn customers away, which in turn obviously affects our local employment as well, so the investment now needs to be put into Inishowen.”