Minister Eoghan Murphy 'has done nothing' about boil water notice, says FF TD

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy has been accused of dodging responsibility over the water ban in the greater Dublin area as tests continue to try and turn back on taps in over 600,000 homes.

It has also emerged that a number of people have fallen ill after not following advice about the water ban.

Families with small children are particularly concerned about the threat of disease and water limits as the Halloween Bank Holiday gets underway.

Fianna Fáil housing spokesman Darragh O'Brien lashed the minister, claiming he had failed to fully inform the public about the controversy as well as answer questions about when he became aware of the water problem.

“People are getting annoyed,” the Dublin Fingal TD told the Irish Examiner.

"He [the minister] could do something, he has done nothing. This is becoming real serious. Over a tenth of the island is without drinking water. He has put out no statement or Tweet, and only referred to Irish Water.

"If he was opening a water plant, there would be a big entourage and the media there. He needs to try and manage the situation in the greater Dublin area but is absent.”

Mr O'Brien said that Irish Water were set to flush pipes in the system today, a move which could further delay any reconnections if there are still problems in the system.

“I am not expecting him to go around with a plunger but to have some concern and that the Government is bothered, and they are not,” added the Opposition TD.

The Fianna Fáil TD also wants to know when Mr Murphy was informed about the boil notice issue.

Speaking out about worries families have with small children at home as they head into the Bank Holiday weekend, Labour councillor and Dublin Fingal election candidate, Duncan Smith said:

“Knocking on doors, I have no answers for people on what happens next with the boil water notice and it seems that Irish Water have not been ahead of this issue. People in Fingal are now really concerned."

It has also emerged that a number of people have fallen ill after not heeding the water ban. Fine Gael TD Noel Rock told Newstalk:

“It would be stomach bugs, upset stomachs, that kind of thing. So naturally for the people affected by this, it is concerning.

"We want to make sure that mistakes that were made here, both in terms of whatever went wrong in the first instance, but also in terms of the slowness of communication and the lack of clarity in communication around certain aspects of this, that these mistakes aren't repeated again."

Mr Rock, who is the chairman of the Oireachtas housing committee, wants to challenge those responsible at the next meeting of members on November 5.

He said: "Well, I want to meet with Irish Water, with the Environmental Protection Agency and with various relevant other authorities to try and establish exactly what happened here.

"Why there has been an outage for 600,000 people, a boil water notice for 600,000 people and exactly what train of events lead to this and how can we prevent it from happening again."

The HSE has warned that untreated water in the system may contain cysts of cryptosporidium and giardia and that these can cause gastrointestinal infections, including symptoms such as diarrhoea and stomach cramps.