North Cork village faces housing growth with ‘nightmare’ water supply dating back 50 years

Residents warn new housing will worsen chronic water outages as Uisce Éireann says funding is unavailable for pipe replacement

'Everybody acknowledges that the pipes are also too small (in diameter) to carry the water needed in this day and age to supply the needs of houses and businesses in the area.'

A drought-stricken village in North Cork, in line for 60 new houses, is already struggling with a "nightmare" creaking water supply that hasn’t been upgraded in more than 50 years.

In the past year, the supply situation has deteriorated in Ballyhooly with repeated breaks in its main pipes.