Council faces €500k fine over water bug

CLARE County Council faces a potential €500,000 fine for allowing water untreated for the cryptosporidium bug into the Ennis public water system last year.

This follows Judge Joseph Mangan at Ennis District Court yesterday refusing jurisdiction in the case taken by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) after hearing an outline of the facts. The court was told that the council will be pleading guilty in the case.

The maximum fine allowed in the district court is €5,000. However, following Judge Mangan’s ruling, the case will be now be heard in the circuit court where the maximum fine allowed is €500,000.