Gardaí investigate damage to water meters in Youghal

Gardaí in Co Cork are investigating damage to two water meters. 

The meters, as well as concrete around the equipment, were damaged on Monday night.

The meters had been installed at two sections in the Tallow St area in the east Cork town of Youghal some weeks ago, but workers contracted to Irish Water had returned on Monday afternoon to conduct maintenance work.

The men had left the areas fenced-off overnight, and discovered the damage yesterday morning when they returned to complete the work.

A group of anti-water meter protestors also attended yesterday morning and placed pickets calling for the water charges to be abolished. The workers later left the street without repairing the meters.

Gardaí were in attendance and are understood to be studying nearby CCTV footage as part of their investigations.

Pat Bulman of the Peoples Convention political movement, which opposes water charges, says neither protestors nor residents had been aware that water meters had been installed.

He feels they may have been installed in tandem with works on the town’s main drainage scheme.

“In that case it might be argued that the company did not notify residents as they are required to do,” he says.

Mr Bulman adds that he was informed that “meters are not planned for Youghal until 2016, yet now we have four of them installed in mysterious circumstances”.

The protestor says he returned the water supply to one household the previous night after the workers neglected to do so prior to departing.

“I tried to contact Irish water on several phone numbers but there was no reply. So I turned the stopcock back on myself,” he said.

Ironically, the same street suffered two incidences of severe flooding in 24 hours recently, which has been unofficially attributed to the €18m drainage system works. Irish Water says it is not accepting liability for the floods.

Meanwhile an anti-water meter march will depart from Youghal’s Market Square on Saturday at 1pm.