A family whose home flooded for a second time in less than two years after a water mains burst said the emotional impact is taking its toll.

Irish Water has warned that some 6,500km of piping in the country’s network is at risk of bursting in a similar fashion to the disruption that has left tens of thousands of homes in Louth and Meath without water for almost a week now.

Meath County Council has been fined €1,000 and ordered to pay over €2,500 in costs and expenses for polluting a part of the river Boyne.