merrion street

Eoghan Murphy, T.D., Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government this afternoon welcomed the lifting of the precautionary boil water notice for all areas in Dublin, Kildare and Meath.

The notice was necessary to protect the public  from illness and was put in place following a consultation between Irish Water and the HSE.

The incident, and the ensuing boil water notice, was significant and serious. It caused major disruption to more than 600,000 people and to business in the affected parts of Dublin, Kildare and Meath.  Given the significance of this incident, the Minister and his department have been in frequent contact with Irish Water and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA’s final audit report will be published in the coming days. However, the Minister has expressed his concern following the preliminary findings of the audit published this afternoon, saying:

I am extremely concerned to hear that the EPA found no system was in place to respond adequately to process alarms at the water treatment plant serving a major part of our capital city and surrounding area. Irish Water must now work with Fingal County Council to ensure there is no repeat of this type of incident.

Once I have the EPA’s final report, due in the coming days, I will be meeting directly with the Managing Director of Irish Water and chief executive of Fingal County Council.

The EPA has verified that Irish Water and Fingal County Council have, in the wake of this incident, already implemented the necessary automatic plant shutdown systems.

Minister Murphy has also requested that the EPA provide a report directly to him on this incident. This report will include the EPA’s view on the causes of the incident; if and how it could have been prevented; and their view on the response of Irish Water and of Fingal County Council (who operate the plant on behalf of Irish Water).  The Minister will consider this report once he has received it.