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Martin wades into abortion debateAs the Dáil committee hearings continue on the abortion bill, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has waded into the debate saying it is important that Christian believers "be, and seen to be, on the side of life, especially when life is most vulnerable".
Payment cuts see families pay rent shortfallLimits on rent supplement payments set by the Government are forcing thousands of families to make undeclared top-up payments to landlords to secure places to live.
- WORLD
Anger as North Korea launches another missileNorth Korea fired a short-range missile from its east coast, a day after launching three more of these missiles, a South Korean news agency said.
How Star Trek predicted the futureWHEN Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry first dreamed up the concept of a television show based in the unexplored universe of Outer Space in 1964, the world was a very different place.
- BUSINESS
Warnings over future of eurozoneThe eurozone is heading towards a break up unless there are moves towards much closer political and fiscal union, according to chief economist with State Street Global Advisers, Chris Probyn.
Bruton defends corporate tax rateIreland will be able to maintain its current corporation tax code in the face of international pressure to prevent multinational corporations avoid paying their fare share of tax, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton said yesterday.
- SPORT
Mayo’s statement of intentGalway 0-11 Mayo 4-16 Five minutes to go in Salthill yesterday and James Horan was still cajoling his men to sew it into Galway.
Wilkinson inspires Toulon to gloryASM Clermont Auvergne 15 Toulon 16 Not for the first time this season, a matchday performance and the result have made a mockery of the statistics.
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14-17C
Breaking stories
Water supply in Dublin area on knife-edge
By Noel Baker
THE water supply to the country’s largest urban area is on a knife-edge, with senior managers warning that members of the public will have to conserve water to ensure there are no future shortages.
Demand in the greater Dublin area, which takes in households in six local authority regions, has been outstripping supply. The daily pressure on supplies comes at a time when there is traditionally an increase in demand in the summer months.Figures released by Dublin City Council for 2009 showed regional demand stood at 540 million litres a day (MLD), whereas production stood at 518MLD.
A serious increase in demand during the freezing early months of the year has seen that situation worsen, and the local authority said that while storage of raw water has not yet reached a level that would warrant the introduction of restrictions on supply, the public needed to take measures to increase conservation.
Some 1.4 million people use water from a variety of sources, including the water treatment plant in Ballymore Eustace next to the Poulaphouca Reservoir and other storage facilities in Roundwood and Bohernabreena.
Poulaphouca, the largest raw water storage reservoir, is currently at 120 days as opposed to 200 days when full. Similarly, the facility in Roundwood is at 160 days as opposed to 200 days when full, while Bohernabreena is at 75 days as opposed to 100 days when full.
Drinking water equates to just 4% of water usage in a home, compared to 30% for toilet flushing and 21% for baths and taps.
Dublin City manager John Tierney said: “The capacity of the rivers in the Dublin region to supply water is limited and we need a new source because demand for water is increasing and will continue to increase.
“Demand is expected to increase to 800 million litres a day by 2031 and we are planning now to meet the expected demand.”
The city council has urged households to conserve water through simple methods such as not using water to hose gardens, not letting the tap run while brushing your teeth, reducing the length of showers and buying a water butt to collect rainwater from the house roof and downpipes that can be used to water plants. There has been a three-fold increase in the number of water butts bought so far this year.
“Long-term water supply to Dublin should be a national project,” Mr Tierney said.
Water charges for domestic use would not be a revenue generating exercise, he stressed, adding that any future charge would have to be set at a level which would meet cost of supply.
* www.taptips.ie or www.dublincity.ie