Oireachtas to grill Irish Water over contamination controversy which left dozens ill

Unsafe water leaving the Gorey water treatment plant over a five-day period in August led to 52 confirmed illnesses and a number of hospitalisations
Oireachtas to grill Irish Water over contamination controversy which left dozens ill

The Oireachtas Housing Committee is to take evidence from Irish Water after contaminated water left over 50 people ill. 

Irish Water bosses are to face a grilling by “hugely concerned” TDs this Thursday over the “unacceptable” contamination controversy which went unreported for days, the Irish Examiner has learned.

The Oireachtas Housing Committee is to take evidence from Irish Water, which is under threat of legal action from Gorey residents who were left violently ill with people vomiting, passing blood and cramping.

Unsafe water leaving the Gorey water treatment plant over a five-day period in August led to 52 confirmed illnesses and a number of hospitalisations.

The Housing Committee will meet tomorrow to finalise its arrangements ahead of its meeting with Irish Water, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Housing.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Social Democrats Housing spokesman Cian O’Callaghan said it's crucially important that the public can have full confidence in the quality and safety of our water supply.

“These incidents have caused huge concern and there are very serious questions to be answered about what went wrong. There needs to be answers and there needs to be clear accountability for these failures,” he said.

At the committee, attention will focus on the delayed transfer of 2,000 staff from local authorities to Irish Water, which the company said was a factor in the failure to raise the alarm sooner.

Niall Gleeson, Managing Director of Irish Water issued an apology for the successive failures which led to customers not being warned in time.

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Public trust in water supply 'damaged' after Gorey treatment plant problems

“These incidents certainly shouldn’t have happened. We should have communicated quicker. We should have dealt with the HSE and EPA to agree necessary steps. There was a failure there, and we are taking steps to make sure those failures don’t happen again,” he said.

It appears that in Gorey, a power failure and a chlorine pump failure resulted in water leaving the plant and entering the public supply without the appropriate level of disinfection.

“We should have been informed by Wexford County Council as soon as the incident happened. We are trying to understand exactly what happened, why there was a failure in communication,” Mr Gleeson said.

Mr Gleeson said there were “issues” with the processes at the plant, with alarms, and secondary indicators which “should have been picked up.”

Protocols were not followed, he said.

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien wants all Water Treatment Plants be audited.
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien wants all Water Treatment Plants be audited.

“We accept the criticism of the EPA and the minister,” he said.

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said what happened in both Gorey and Ballymore-Eustace Water Treatment Plants in recent weeks was “utterly unacceptable”.

“I have asked that all Water Treatment Plants be audited, beginning with the largest 20. Irish Water confirmed that will begin from the start of this week,” he told the Irish Examiner.

Residents in Gorey affected by the contamination were left vomiting, passing blood and with cramps, Fianna Fáil Senator Malcolm Byrne has said.

“The seriousness of this issue should not be underestimated,” he said.

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Gorey resident ill for 'ten days' after drinking tainted water

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