Uisce Éireann spent €9.3m over five years on paying compensation
More than €9.3m over five years was spent compensating members of the public who have sustained injuries or had property damaged by Irish Water, Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú said.
More than €9.3m over five years was spent compensating members of the public who have sustained injuries or had property damaged by Irish Water, an Irish MEP said.
Fianna Fáil Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú said that between 2020 and July 2025, Uisce Éireann spent €9,324,210.63 on this compensation.
Ms Ní Mhurchú also said figures from Uisce Éireann, revealed under FOI, show Irish Water spent €364,422.57 between 2022 and 2024 on external public relations consultants. Irish Water spent €103,833.50, exclusive of Vat, in 2024 alone on media monitoring services to monitor what media are saying about Uisce Éireann.
“€10m would pay for up to 200 extra gardaí for a year policing our streets. That is how we have to look at this spending,” said Ms Ní Mhurchú.
“I understand that some level of spending is inevitable on these items but the almost €10m of spending that I have uncovered feels like the tip of the iceberg and I would call on Uisce Éireann to respect taxpayers and ensure that every single penny at the utility is spent frugally and wisely.”
Ms Ní Mhurchú welcomed an investment of €1.4bn in Uisce Éireann as part of last week’s budget but raised concerns on aspects of their spending, saying it sends the wrong message to small businesses who are paying water rates.
She described investment in Uisce Éireann as a vital part of fixing the housing crisis but said any public body in receipt of taxpayer's money to “spend the money as if it were their own”.
She referenced that the European Court of Auditors, ECA, may be required to look at the spending by Irish public bodies if EU funds were involved. The ECA audits EU spending and produces reports that identify poor value for money.
In a statement to the Irish Examiner, Uisce Éireann said it maintains "robust governance, risk management, and accountability, operating under the Water Services Acts 2007 to 2022 as a state-owned entity".
"It ensures transparency, value-for-money, and responsible investment of exchequer funds. The organisation complies at all times with governance codes, project approval processes, and infrastructure guidelines, reporting to our regulators, the CRU and EPA, while also being subject to oversight by the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Public Accounts Committee.
"As Ireland’s national water utility, Uisce Éireann serves over 80% of the population and manages a network of 93,000 km of pipes and 8,000+ assets. The utility manages hundreds of ongoing projects with capital investment of over €4.5bn in the period 2020 to 2024. Any organisation with this scale and impact of essential activity would expect to see a certain level of legal claims, including personal injury and property compensation. All claims are thoroughly investigated and managed to ensure responsible use of the public funds."
With regard to the spend on public relations, the company said activities focus on national and local communications, regulatory targets, and stakeholder engagement. "The team provides critical public information to our customers and communities via the media and other channels. This includes proactive and reactive communications about outages and other critical water quality issues, regulatory reports, events, and public information campaigns such as water conservation awareness.
"Public relations activities are mainly delivered by our in-house team, with limited and selective use of external agencies for strategic advice and specific public information campaigns. All spending follows strict procurement rules."
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
