Fine Gael TD for Dublin Fingal, Alan Farrell, raised the water quality issues experienced in the North County in recent weeks in Dáil Éireann. Deputy Farrell also demanded the prioritisation of the delivery of adequate wastewater infrastructure for the community of Rush to stop untreated wastewater being discharged into the sea.
Raising this issue in Dáil Éireann, Deputy Farrell stated “The difficulty we have is that, in Fingal which has a community of more than 250,000, which is growing rapidly, there is seriously substandard water infrastructure, particularly waste infrastructure. While I appreciate the work Irish Water is doing in Rush, in particular, it is simply unacceptable that, when we had what could not be described as a deluge – the entire beach had to be shut down for a period of three days. At the northern end of the constituency it had to be closed for longer; admittedly there was heavier rainfall, but the major difficulty I have is that there does not seem to be an impetus to have the infrastructure upgraded.”
“I accept the point that the Minister has no direct responsibility for monitoring water quality, that falls to the EPA, but he could pick up the telephone and talk to the head of Irish Water, highlight the press coverage of such instances that have occurred on a regular basis and ask the question I am asking today: why are we waiting so long for basic infrastructure to be put in place? As I mentioned, 75% of the waste flushed down toilets in Rush goes directly out to sea untreated” continued Deputy Farrell.
Following his contribution in Dáil Éireann, Deputy Farrell said “I believe it is of the utmost importance that the provision of adequate wastewater infrastructure to every community in the North County is prioritised and the events over the last few weeks highlight this. For this reason, I raised this issue in the Dáil, along with the fact that Rush has been waiting for too long on the infrastructure needed to serve the town and its environs, to ensure that they remain to the forefront of the agenda in the Department of the Environment.
“I will continue to engage with the Department and with Irish Water until action is taken, and the works on the wastewater infrastructure in Rush finally commence.”
