Public meeting hears from Cork residents 'plagued with dirty, discoloured water' 

CORK City residents “plagued with dirty, discoloured water” gathered at a public meeting yesterday evening — however no Uisce Éireann representative was present to hear their concerns.

Speaking to The Echo ahead of the meeting, Blackpool resident Sonya Cashman said she was disappointed to hear a representative from the water utility would not be attending.

Ms Cashman, who has been experiencing water quality issues for over 18 months, said she was hoping to engage with the company at the meeting in a “civilised fashion” in a bid to get some answers.

“Now they’re not going to show up, and I don’t know what that shows to the people of Cork,” she said.

As a result, Ms Cashman said, washing loads have been “destroyed”.

“The worst thing for me is you’re in the shower, and you look down, and all of a sudden the water is running brown,” she said.

People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Mick Barry, who organised the public meeting in the Maldron Hotel Shandon, told the assembled group: “They’re [Uisce Éireann] not going to be able to keep running away on this issue.

“This is going to dog them now and these questions are going to keep coming up because we are persistent and resilient people.”

Earlier in the day, the Cork North Central TD raised the issue in the Dáil, saying that residents such as Ms Cashman continue to be “plagued with dirty, discoloured water”.

Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould, who also attended the meeting, sharply criticised the ongoing issues and called for the Government to intervene on the matter.

Attendees at the meeting yesterday evening, which was ongoing at the time of print, were due to discuss possible protest action.

Earlier this week, a spokesperson for Uisce Éireann said a representative from the company would “not be available” to attend the meeting.

“However, Uisce Éireann continues to engage extensively with elected representatives and customers in relation to this issue,” the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson said Uisce Éireann is treating the matter “with the utmost priority and are committed to working on the ground to address the issue”.