Rose Conway-Walsh Raises Alarm on Mayo Water Schemes
Rose Conway-Walsh spoke about water supply failures in Mayo, focusing on group water schemes and funding rules that exclude small clusters of homes. She urged the minister and Iske Ayrn/Irish Water to relax funding criteria, write off accumulated debts and formally take over schemes, and called for more local staffing to deliver projects.
Funding exclusions for small clusters
She highlighted homes in Glensal, Termicady, Crag, Erbal and other parts of North Mayo where clusters of fewer than 25 houses are excluded from funding. She said the current criteria are a weakness, must be relaxed and funding provided so Mayo County Council can carry out the works and households can access clear running water 24-7.
Takeover delays and debt problems
She noted a number of aid schemes in Mayo waiting to be taken in charge by Iske Ayrn, with six not accepted because of debt and some held for seven years. One scheme was not taken over because it was fed by another scheme with leak issues; she argued debts have mounted through infrastructure deterioration and cannot justifiably be left for volunteers or households to pay.
Local authority capacity and staffing concerns
She commended the rural water section of Mayo County Council and named Michael McDermott for his work, but said staffing is insufficient to deliver projects. She referenced an emergency staffing request and warned it would be unacceptable for unspent money to be clawed back at year end simply because the council lacks the staff to implement schemes.
Pilot programme and county comparisons
She welcomed Mayo being selected as a pilot county for the new Luxarp programme starting in June next year but stressed the pilot cannot succeed without additional staff. She asked the minister whether comparisons had been made across counties for schemes taken in charge, suggesting Mayo may be near the bottom and that this needs review.
Summary of requests to the minister
Her formal requests were that funding criteria be made flexible to include all households, that Iske Ayrn/Irish Water formally take over the schemes presented by Mayo County Council and write off the debts arising from neglected infrastructure, and that the department allow flexibility with the local authority to find and execute solutions. She closed by asking not to have to raise the issue again.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
It's really good. It's unusual for Mayo to be first. And specifically today, Ministers, I want to talk to you about the situation with water in Mayo, and in particular with group water schemes. Now, let me be very clear. The people in Mayo are just as important as the people living anywhere else in the state. And I know you'll agree with that. They have a right to water, a right to clear running water and a right to access water 24-7. Firstly, I want to talk to you about homes in areas just like Glensal, Termicady, Crag and Erbal and in areas of North Mayo. You have clusters of less than 25 houses, Minister. The rules for funding exclude them from getting a water supply. That is just not right. This is a weakness in the system and the criteria must be relaxed. Funding must be provided so that Mayo County Council can get on with the work and the households can get on with their lives. I would please ask you to listen to what I'm saying, because I'm providing you with solutions. I do not want to be standing up here again in front of you about water in Mayo. The second thing I want you to address is the schemes in Mayo, the aid schemes in Mayo that are waiting at the moment, and there are others in the pipeline, to be taken in charge by Iske Ayrn. Six of those have not been taken in charge because of debt. Some of them have been with Iske Ayrn for the past seven years. Seven years. One of these schemes, Iske Ayrn will not take over because it has been fed by another scheme with leak issues. Debt on these schemes have mounted up over the years, through nobody's fault, but with the pipes deteriorating and leaks happening, you cannot now hold the volunteers and the households in the scheme to ransom over these leaks. So Minister, can you get Iske Ayrn to write off the debts and to take over the schemes and just get on with it? Because these debts are going to be there for 100 years. They are not going to be paid by anyone. They cannot be paid by anyone. Minister, we need flexibility between the local authority and the department to find and execute solutions. I do want to commend the rural water section of Mayo County Council for their work, and indeed Michael McDermott, who has just left that division, who did excellent work as well. But there is just not enough of them there to do what needs to be done for the delivery of the water in the county. I know there is an emergency staffing request in, and I am absolutely certain that every elected representative in the county will support this request. It would be unthinkable that unspent money would be clawed back by the department at the end of the year, just because we do not have sufficient staff in the water section to deliver the projects. I welcome the fact that Mayo County Council has been selected as a pilot county for the new Luxarp, which starts June next year. But without the necessary staff, this work cannot be done. Minister, have you done comparisons between the counties as to how many schemes have been taken in charge in each county? I think you will find that Mayo is hovering on the bottom there, so that needs to be looked at. So I will sum up, Minister, and my request for today. Allow the funding criteria flexibility to include to allow for all households to have a water supply. Get Irish Water to formally take over the schemes that have been presented by Mayo County Council. Get Irish Water to write off the debts in the run-up because of neglected infrastructure. And please, Minister, let me not be standing here again.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
