Boil water notices for Tipp and Waterford with possible disruptions in Cork and Kerry

Uisce Éireann head of operations Tom Cuddy said the notices bring a 'potential for significant disruption to householders, businesses and water users generally across the 12 local authorities'.

A number of boil water notices have been issued for 12 local authorities across the country on Thursday and Friday as a precautionary measure ahead of industrial action.

Precautionary boil water notices for households and businesses are in place in Tipperary and Waterford over the next several days. 

Other areas where there could be disruption include Cork City and county, Kerry, Fingal, South Dublin County Council, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Louth, Carlow, Galway City and Wexford.

The affected areas may be hit with “water supply interruptions” and water issues while the notices remain in effect.

Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, Uisce Éireann (formerly Irish Water) head of operations Tom Cuddy said the notices bring a “potential for significant disruption to householders, businesses and water users generally across the 12 local authorities”.

“Those impacts could be across the network and across the quality of water,” Mr Cuddy added.

The issue is being treated as a “very serious matter”, leading to the establishment of an incident management team within Uisce Éireann to ensure any major disruptions are handled effectively.

“We are in contact already with large customers and will follow up with customers in the areas which are already being identified. And that will include, for example, hospitals and care homes. And we are providing them with support and advice,” Mr Cuddy said.

Mr Cuddy said he hoped a resolution could be reached with the trade union so no further action would be necessary.

Tom Fitzgerald, regional coordinating officer with the Unite trade union, explained strike action had been taken because the Local Government Management Agency, which is the body charged with engaging with trade unions on behalf of local authorities, had refused to meet members of Unite.

This was not an acceptable position for one State agency to say that they would not engage with a trade union, he said.

Unite is looking for a commitment that water staff transferring from local authorities to Uisce Éireann will retain their public service status.

“Our members democratically rejected a framework for future delivery of water services,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

The trade union hopes to sit down and discuss the difference in approach to standard operating procedures and industrial action.

The matter has not been taken lightly, Mr Fitzgerald said.

“No one wants to be on strike. It’s a very difficult place to be. And remember, our people who are on strike today live in those areas where the notices are going out. So this impacts upon their family, their communities. So it's not something they want to do." 

In the event of an emergency, Mr Fitzgerald said his members would leave the picket line in order to allow for any essential work to be completed.

Customers can check if their property is included by visiting the Water Quality section of water.ie and entering the property’s Eircode or by calling the Uisce Éireann’s customer care helpline, open 24/7, on 1800 278 278.

Water must be boiled for:

• Drinking;
• Drinks made with water;
• Preparation of salads and similar foods, which are not cooked before eating;
• Brushing of teeth;
• Making of ice — discard ice cubes in fridges and freezers and filtered water in fridges. Make ice from cooled boiled water.

Last week, home owners in East Cork shared their outrage over a string of continuous water boil notices, costing them hundreds of thousands of euro on bottled water.

Since early 2016, there have been repeated boil water notices issued to about 9,500 people on the Whitegate Water Supply Scheme.

The water supply travels through highly silted underground channels, which does not allow the conventional ultraviolet treatment used to kill bacteria to pass through.

Following consultations with the HSE, residents have been issued numerous water boil notices.