Members of the Unite trade union have decided to end their industrial action which has been impacting on water services in Tipperary.
However comments by a senior official from Uisce Éireann has angered the union members.
The dispute centres on proposals to transfer water services staff from Tipperary County Council to Uisce Éireann.
Unite wants its members to retain their public service status in the event of they transferring.
In the region of 40,000 customers been left with little or no supply due to the dispute.
The action was due to continue until midnight but in what they say was a gesture of goodwill the Unite members decided to leave the picket this lunchtime in an effort to restore water to the public.
They say the move comes despite what the union members describe as the “ignorant” comments made on Tipp FM by Uisce Éireann’s regional operations manager Jim Fitzgerald where they feel he totally disregarded the concerns of UNITE members on the picket lines.
They are now demanding an apology from him and again asking that Local Government Management Agency engage with them.
Tipperary County Council say full restoration of water supply may take some days – particularly for customers at elevated locations or at the extremity of a supply network.
