Ordinary citizen will pay to safeguard Irish water

Irish Water announced that 400 jobs would be created during the installation of water meters over the next three years.

Minister Phil Hogan has declared ‘war’ on dirty, domestic septic tanks. These strategic initiatives are to protect Irish water. The dangers are clear: a few cattle carcasses lost by hard-pressed Irish farmers polluted surface water in Roscommon, and cost €300,000 to clean up.

We don’t have enough water anyway — Lough Derg will be tapped to supply Dublin. The ordinary citizen will pay to safeguard Ireland’s public water supplies. What are businesses being asked to contribute? The elephant in the room is ‘where will the millions of gallons of fracking water come from’?

Will Enegi Oil PLC, and other frackers, supply their own water to smash the shale and deliver the chemicals to release the gas? Will they use sea water — with the risk of saline destruction of our groundwater and aquifers? Or will they use water from the scarce supplies that you and I are paying to keep clean?

Will they be asked to pay for the water they use? If so, how much? Will they clean up afterwards? Or will Irish taxpayers and home-owners pick up the tab, yet again?

A new Carthage is looming: we will allow vast amounts of toxic water to be pumped into the ground — in time, polluting our precious land and water.

Mark Wilson-Pierce

Rathlir Farm

Clare