Decades needed to replace lead water pipes

It may take decades to remove dangerous lead water pipes from Irish homes, Environment Minister Alan Kelly has said.

Launching the first government initiative to try and tackle the problem, Mr Kelly said it was not a quick-fix situation.

The minister said it could take up to 20 years to rid households and public buildings of the menace posed by lead pipes, stating: “It cannot be dealt with immediately or quickly but will take a considerable amount of time.”

The HSE’s assistant national director on health policy Professor Kevin Kelleher warned people with lead pipes should not drink the water, especially vulnerable groups like pregnant women and young children.

Mr Kelly defended the fact that Irish Water would only replace pipes to the boundary of the property, and then only when the householder has changed the internal ones.

“The primary focus of the national strategy is the protection of human health. Responsibility for replacing lead pipes from the main stopcock to the house and within the house rests with the homeowner,” the minister said.

Fianna Fáil environment spokesperson Barry Cowen criticised the grant system made available to some householders by the Government as inadequate.

“The scale of the problem has been clear under EPA surveys which have indicated up to 200,000 homes could possess lead supply pipes. This presents a serious threat to the health of residents, which is heightened for young children and pregnant women.”

The problem is also widespread in public buildings such as schools, he said.

“The Government is currently spending €539m, borrowed from the National Pension Reserve Fund, to finance the roll out of water meters.

“These meters will not be used until 2019 at the earliest. In the meantime it is backtracking on its own ‘first fix’ policy, and in the process is leaving up to 200,000 homeowners high and dry. These homes will now have to pay water charges and in addition be forced to pay for extensive plumbing works to replace lead pipes.”

“The decision on a small means-tested grant falls far short of the much vaunted policy former minister Phil Hogan announced some years ago. It’s another example of the on-going disaster of Irish Water and a reminder of how unfit for purpose the Government’s plan has been from day one,” Mr Cowen said.

The lead pipe problem impacts on buildings built before the 1970s, and the full details of the grant scheme to partially cover the cost to homeowners will not be available until the October Budget.

Opposition TDs have criticised the funding available which allows people earning below €50,000 to claim up to €4,000, and those on incomes of €50,000 to €75,000 to access up to €2,500. It is estimated the cost of replacing lead pipes will be around €5,000 per household impacted.

The situation is particularly dangerous for babies, whose development can be delayed due to exposure to contaminated water. There is also a serious risk to brain development and kidney function from drinking water with lead levels above the recommended level.

The Government will launch an information campaign soon to inform people concerned about the situation what to do.

Irish Water’s Jerry Grant said water was the most “intractable” of the problems regarding lead contamination.