Rose Conway-Walsh: Demands Emergency Funding for 500 Mayo Homes
Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh raised the plight of 500 households in Ballycroix and Isbygil, County Mayo, left without water for days and urged flexibility in the multi-annual water programme to reallocate returned funds. She called for emergency funding for a gravity-fed, volunteer-run group scheme and highlighted barriers to reconstitution and access to funding.
Immediate problem in County Mayo
The speech details an ongoing, intolerable situation in which around 500 households in Ballycroix and Isbygil are left without water for days on end. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh pressed for immediate action to address interruptions to supply affecting these communities.
Legal background and regulations
The EU drinking water regulations were noted as having come into effect in Irish law in March 2023. The deputy linked the regulatory framework to the operational and funding questions for small local schemes.
Local group scheme and volunteer challenges
The affected supply is a gravity-fed group scheme run by volunteers. Several volunteers have passed away, creating a need to reconfigure the volunteer group in the parish so the scheme can apply for necessary funding and continue to operate.
Funding requests and official response
Mayo County Council applied for emergency funding earlier in the year but was unsuccessful, the deputy said. She called for flexibility in the multi-annual water programme so monies returned to the department from one scheme could be reallocated to another in urgent need. A minister responding in the record said they would speak to Irish Water and to the minister to explore whether anything can be done about reconstitution and funding in this specific case.
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The EU drinking water regulations came into effect in Irish law in March 2023, and I raised this in the context of the ongoing intolerable situation whereby 500 households in Ballycroix and in Isbygil in County Mayo are left without water days on end. The way to solve this is to allow some flexibility in the multi-annual water programme to enable monies that are returned to the department or to be returned to the department from one scheme can be reallocated to another scheme that desperately needs it. This is a gravity-fed group scheme in Ballycroix and it is run by volunteers. What has happened is that some of the volunteers have passed away, so they are trying to reconfigure the volunteers in the parish to be able to apply for the funding that is necessary. There is a way to solve this. Mayo County Council applied for emergency funding earlier this year, but were unsuccessful, so we need emergency funding and we need some flexibility around the framework. Thank you Deputy Richard. Deputy Rose Conway, in terms of the drinking water regulation, 500. Again, it is a specific issue. I will talk to Irish Water in respect of that, but it is not, it is a group scheme. So, and you want flexibility in the multi-annual funding. I will talk to the Minister, sorry, and whether there is anything that can be done there or not, or whether there is a combination of issues in terms of the reconstitution of the group, the volunteers.
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