Widow forced to pay for water well due to funding withdrawal

Anton McNulty

A WIDOW who has to pay in excess of €6,000 to drill a well for her domestic water supply feels small rural communities are being left behind in the country’s water debate.
Up to a dozen homes in the Carracastle community in east Mayo have to obtain their own water supply after funding was withdrawn to allow them to join up with neighbouring group water schemes.
Pensioner and widow Nuala Quinn revealed that she is currently installing a well in a field close to her home. She had to get a Credit Union loan to cover the costs which could end up around €6,500. Her previous well, installed in the 1990s, subsided recently leaving her with a trickle of water coming from her tap.
The community had hoped to join up with neighbour group water schemes and had paid €1,100 as a deposit but following the withdrawal of the CLAR programme in 2010, funding was withdrawn. Left with the extra costs of paying for the connection, many households decided to stay with their current well systems and the deposits were given back just before Christmas.
“I was heartbroken,” Nuala told The Mayo News when she received her deposit. “At the moment if there is a warm summer, you are never too sure you will have enough water. I would have preferred to be connected to a group water scheme and I would not mind paying if I had to pay.
“I am drilling a well at the moment and when all the costs are taken into account the cost is €6,500 anyway, and the Council grant is only for €2,000. There are two new houses beside us and with no water scheme, they had no option but to drill a well. It is expensive to keep them and if anything goes wrong you are not talking small money for repairs.
“This is Carracastle village, this is not a few houses at the end of some side road. A water supply scheme should be all over Mayo and it is not fair certain areas do not have a water scheme. We seem to be forgotten about. It is like living in the dark ages,” she said.
Mrs Quinn said she was annoyed that with all the talk of Irish Water and water charges, there was still people in rural Ireland having to dig their own well for water. She praised the contribution played by former Mayo TD John O’Mahony in trying to get the village connected to a scheme but was critical of the decision to withdraw CLAR funding.
Paul Connolly of the National Federation of Group Water Schemes explained that provisions for areas such as Carracastle who find themselves without a scheme has been promised under the Rural Water Programme. He said he hoped progress will be made on the programme but added progress has been held up until the formation of a new government.