Irish Water issues dominate local authority meeting

The future of water services in Tipperary was the main talking point of this month’s meeting of Tipperary County Council.

The local authority currently has a Service Level agreement with Irish Water in relation to the provision of water and waste water services in the County.

But this agreement is due to expire in July, which means that the responsibility of all water projects and infrastructure would fall under the sole remit of Irish Water.

This prospect has evoked concern from many Tipperary Councillors, with Cllr Seamie Morris saying that Irish Water is not fit for purpose.

A number of Councillors raised their frustration in dealing with Irish Water on their dedicated phone line which was set up specifically for local Councillors to report faults.

This phoneline is only open 5 days a week, with Irish Water saying they are unable to make it a 24/7 service despite repeated requests from Council officials.

The frustration comes amid an Irish Water publication which shows that Tipperary TD’s Mattie McGrath and Michael Lowry had logged the most queries of any TD to Irish Water.

Mattie McGrath had logged one query a day since 2019 while Michael Lowry was second with 256 representations in the last 2 years.

Cllr Michael Fitzgerald has called on the Council to compel Irish Water to appear before the next sitting of Tipperary County Council to answer all of the questions raised at this month’s meeting.