Mayo councillor's calls for Irish Water to be disbanded 'not going to happen'

AN INDEPENDENT councillor has told his Fianna Fáil counterparts that their calls to disband Irish Water are too late and 'that ship has sailed'.

Castlebar-based councillor Michael Kilcoyne made his comments at the monthly meeting of Mayo County Council following calls by Fianna Fáil councillor Damien Ryan to disband the state-owned water utility company Uisce Éireann, which is still commonly known by its former name Irish Water.

The south Mayo councillor earlier told the meeting that the state-owned water utility company has let down rural Ireland and it was time responsibility for water and sanitary services was given back to the local authorities.

“Irish Water has let down rural Ireland and we should write to the national government and to the three leaders and ask to have Irish Water disbanded. The way rural Ireland is being dealt with is a disgrace and they should be dissolved and the powers given back to the local authorities. It was one of the things we did famously well,” Cllr Ryan said.

His proposal was supported by a number of councillors on Mayo County Council but Cllr Kilcoyne felt that while he supports its disbandment, disbanding Uisce Éireann will not be allowed to happen.

“I have lost faith in Irish Water ever going back to the local authorities and you should realise it is never going to happen. You sat on your hands with these people [Fine Gael councillors] over here whose national representatives introduced Irish Water. It [disbandment of Irish Water] is not in the programme for government, it won't be in the next programme for government unless Gerry Murray [Sinn Féin councillor] is in there. It means that Breaffy getting the extension to the sewerage scheme is not going to happen and you will have to accept the boat is gone,” he said.

Independent councillor John O'Malley said that every day he gets complaints from people in his constituency about Uisce Éireann while Cllr John O'Hara criticised them for not connecting 13 householders in a community in north Mayo to the public mains.

Achill councillor Paul McNamara asked whoever is elected to the next council after June's local elections to ensure that rural group water schemes are upgraded to ensure they are taken over by Uisce Éireann.

Cllr McNamara said that Uisce Éireann do not want to take over group water schemes until all criteria are met and it was causing difficulties in some rural communities.

“A lot of our group schemes are all voluntary and if a pipe bursts people go out and repair it themselves. That has been the case for the last 40 or 50 years but unfortunately the young people are not following up and are caught up in their own work. The group schemes are going to run into serious problems if they are not taken over. I would urge the next council to push to bring all the group schemes up to a proper standard that meets Irish Water’s specifications to have them taken over,” he said.