Uisce Éireann defends refusal to attend public council meeting amid dirty water controversy
Uisce Éireann, the HSE, and the EPA had all been invited to send representatives to the meeting in Cork City Hall on Thursday about the discoloured water.
Uisce Éireann has defended its engagement with Cork’s politicians amid mounting anger over the city’s ongoing dirty water problem.
This follows Uisce Éireann’s decision to decline an invitation to attend a special public meeting of Cork City Council on the issue, a meeting that was ultimately postponed.
The utility, the HSE and Environmental Protection Agency had all been invited to send representatives to the meeting in City Hall on Thursday, where councillors had planned to grill them about the three-year discolouration of the city’s supply of drinking water.
All the agencies declined to attend, but councillors singled out Uisce Éireann for most criticism, when it emerged that its CEO, Niall Gleeson, and other senior executives, had agreed to meet city officials on Wednesday afternoon.
The decision to postpone Thursday’s public council meeting was made after this behind-closed-doors meeting.
It is understood that city officials will instead prepare a report, based on their meeting with Uisce Éireann officials, for councillors to consider at their next regular council meeting.
Fine Gael councillor Shane O’Callaghan said the response from Uisce Éireann is just not good enough:
Sinn Féin TD for Cork North-Central Thomas Gould accused the utility of “ducking and diving” and “refusing to face scrutiny” at the public meeting.
However, Uisce Éireann said it “has always been, and remains, committed to open dialogue” with the city’s elected public representatives, and has held six engagements — three for Oireachtas members, TDs and senators, and three for city councillors — specifically on the water discolouration issue over the last year or so.
It said an online briefing for councillors on May 9, 2024, was attended by five of the city’s 31 councillors, that nine attended an online briefing on September 12, and three attended an in-person briefing on February 19.
“These engagements are because we acknowledge the impact that discolouration has on affected households and businesses in the city, as well as the importance of keeping Oireachtas members and councillors informed as public representatives.
"Elected representatives are also encouraged to submit queries directly to Uisce Éireann,” it said.
Uisce Éireann said it was due separately to hold a ‘council workshop’ for city councillors on Thursday, as part of a national initiative with councils across the country.
“A lot of planning goes in to these workshops as they are comprehensive and cover an extensive range of topics related to water and wastewater services,” it said.
“Cork City Council opted to cancel the workshop and hold a special meeting of the council instead. Due to the format of these workshops, it would not be possible to integrate them in to the format of a special council meeting.
“We are currently waiting on Cork City Council to confirm a rescheduled date for their dedicated workshop.”
It also outlined again the work of its water-quality taskforce in trying to fix the dirty water problem, including targeted pipe flushing in problem areas, additional proactive sampling and testing, watermains rehabilitation and replacement, and other work at the new Lee Rd water treatment plant, which was commissioned in summer 2022.
