Criticism with the โ€œlayers of bureaucracyโ€ in Irish Water have been voiced by North-West Clare councillors, while it has been confirmed that the proposed replacement of the old watermain from Miltown Malbay to Mullagh will commence during the first quarter of 2021.

Earlier this week it was confirmed that Healy Rae Plant Hire (HRPH) had been appointed to carry out the works, the First Phase (Site Investigation) of which has already been completed. The works will commence in early 2021 โ€œsubject to fundingโ€.

In the final quarter of 2020, watermain replacement projects will also be completed at Mains St in Scariff, the Castlecrine to Kilmurry watermain, 2.5km of watermain at Milltown Road in Tulla, and the watermain in Parnell St, Ennis.

Irish Water in written correspondence to elected representatives of the West Clare Municipal District attributed the water problems in Miltown Malbay in recent weeks to โ€œthe age and poor condition of the water mainsโ€. It stated that the utility body had no โ€œdirect remitโ€ regarding private group water schemes.

A taking in Charge of the four group water schemes has commenced, both Irish Water and Clare County Council are to advance this process. Tender documents for the construction of a new reservoir for Rockmount will be issued to market in the next three to four weeks with construction to begin in 2021.

Before works are completed, the restoring of water โ€œwill be a continuous problemโ€, Director of Service with Clare County Council, Leonard Cleary cautioned.

Speaking at a special meeting of the West Clare Municipal District, Cllr Joe Killeen (FF) was concerned that the works may not proceed. โ€œSubject to funding is a problem because the problem is the funding. I could say we could send someone from Co Clare to the moon in 2021 subject to funding and that wouldnโ€™t be a lieโ€.

Recent outages have caused fear and problems in the farming community, Killeen said. โ€œImagine walking into a shed of animals and the water isnโ€™t working, that causes an immediate concern and is a problem that is very difficult to get aroundโ€. Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) questioned if the outages were a seasonal problem.

Water problems in Miltown Malbay pre-dated the current Council, Cllr Shane Talty (FF) maintained. He believed the correspondence from Irish Water โ€œgets us to a point that we are trying to push towardsโ€ and called for group water schemes to collaborate and co-operate. โ€œFor the businesses in the town, periodic and sporadic outages are a hardship in themselvesโ€.

Levels of bureaucracy within various bodies was criticised by Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG). โ€œThere is a fantasy that has been created and a layer of bureaucracy to the solutions of these fantasyโ€. He highlighted the lesson to communities and the country going forward is to remove red tape. โ€œEverybody talks about the great collective response weโ€™ve had, we will have to start doing things differently and remove the barriers, we have to remove all the nonsense and bureaucracyโ€.

Kilrush representative, Cllr Ian Lynch (IND) called for the removal of group water schemes and said the public donโ€™t understand they are just for their own area. โ€œThe focus is on Miltown Malbay but it compounds the issue we have with Irish Water as a utility. Group water schemes are common across the country. The day of the group scheme is gone, it was a great channel onceโ€. He believed the current pandemic offered a โ€œchance to stop group water schemes being ran by people with no experienceโ€.

A referendum on paying for water is required according to Cllr Roisin Garvey (GP). She stressed that water was a human right and that it was unfair the Council received criticism of the water outages in Miltown. She suggested a meeting of group water scheme leaders be held and referred to the Inagh/Kilmaley scheme โ€œwhich is one of the biggest schemes in Europeโ€ as one that has had little issues up until recent months. She described the water system in Co Clare and the entire country as โ€œbrutalโ€.

Cllr Cillian Murphy (FF) confessed to being baffled with โ€œthe layers of bureaucracyโ€. He stated, โ€œIt shows what can happen when nine county councillors put their head down along with four national representatives and start digging in their heels and not accepting the bog standard response. The same levels of ignoring bureaucracy are neededโ€.

Director of Service with the Council, Carmel Kirby committed to following up with the Head of Asset Strategy in Irish Water โ€œto make sure they prioritise this piece of workโ€. She acknowledged that the ongoing problem in Miltown Malbay was โ€œexasperated during the crisisโ€.

Senior engineer with the Councilโ€™s water department, Cyril Feeney confirmed that Irish Water were invited to the meeting but were unable to send a representative. He admitted, โ€œThe main is passed its useful life span and needs to be replacedโ€ and defended the โ€œfantastic work through the decadesโ€ of group water schemes. โ€œNecessary fundingโ€ for group schemes has been made available, Feeney outlined.

Future works โ€œwill not be without pain,โ€ he flagged and said mains would have to be turned off when valves and fittings are being replaced. The engineer noted that a taking in charge was the โ€œultimate aimโ€ so that they would form part of the public network. He was of the understanding that Irish Water have decided to decommission the Rockmount plant.

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