Councillors demand ‘dysfunctional’ Uisce Éireann be brought to heel

Mayo County Councillors have called on Minister Darragh O’Brien to direct Uisce Éireann to come before them to answer questions. The request follows the water-utility company’s refusal to attend following previous invitations, the latest to the next monthly meeting in October.

This month’s meeting of Mayo County Council contained a steady flow of criticism from various councillors towards Uisce Éireann, citing a number of incidents across the county.

The State-owned water-utility company, previously known as Irish Water, was described by Charlestown-based councillor Gerry Murray as the most dysfunctional public utility in Europe. Saying it is ‘only right’ it appear before the council, he called on Minister for Housing, Local Government, and Heritage Darragh O’Brien to direct them to do so if they fail to respond to the latest councillor invitation.

“These people have been summoned to meetings of Mayo County Council on numerous occasions, and they have refused to come in and be democratically accountable to the local members. I think it is absolutely outrageous to call on the minister to instruct Irish Water to come before a meeting of Mayo County Council and answer the questions local elected reps have been asking for the last two years in terms of various projects and the chaos.

“I said it before and I’ll say it again, Irish water is probably the most dysfunctional public utility in the whole of Europe,” he said.

Raw sewage

The first issue raised involving Uisce Éireann was the delay of the commencement of the new Newport Wastewater Treatment Plant which is not expected to commence until late in 2026.

Westport councillor Brendan Mulroy called on the EPA to start prosecuting Uisce Éireann for polluting the sea around Newport and urged Mayo County Council to write to the EPA to do this.

“All the raw sewage is being pumped directed into the sea and yet the EPA, the regulatory authority, is not willing to fine Irish Water on a daily basis until the plant is completed. I would ask Mayo County Council to write to the EPA with a formal complaint about Irish Water in relation to discharge into Newport Bay. It has gone past a joke and I asked the county council to write to the EPA to fine Irish Water on a daily basis until the issue is resolved,” he said.

Negative experiences

Cllr Mulroy was supported by Cllr John O’Malley, who accused Uisce Éireann of ‘fooling the people of Newport for a long time’. Cllr O’Malley also accused Uisce Éireann of prolonging a water boil notice on Clare Island over the summer despite tests of the water supply showing that it was clear of bacteria.

Bonniconlon-based councillor John O’Hara was also critical of Uisce Éireann for allowing homes and farms in his locality to go without water for up to 36 hours in recent days. He said the local reservoir in the north Mayo village was not fit for purpose and called for it to be upgraded.

Cllr Damien Ryan formally proposed that Uisce Éireann come before the next meeting to address the issues raised in the chamber.

“Right across this chamber there are a series of experiences about Irish Water and they are not positive, they are all negative,” he commented.

Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council, Cllr Michael Loftus said the common theme of the meeting was that there are an awful lot of issues in relation to Uisce Éireann in the county. He requested that each councillor submit their own concerns which can be forwarded onto Uisce Éireann to answer.

“We need to give them a list of issues to address… so they have no excuses if they attend the meeting,” he commented.

There was agreement by the councillors to do this and Cllr Mulroy also supported the call for the minister to direct Uisce Éireann to send a representative to attend the meeting.