‘This is intolerable at this stage’: Protest takes place in Cork city over ongoing water issues

Chants of “one, two, three, four, dirty water no more” and “What do we want? Clean water. When do we want it? Now” were heard at a protest on this afternoon over ongoing water quality issues in Cork city.

The protest, which took place at Uisce Éireann’s offices on Eglinton St, was agreed at a public meeting on the issue last month organised by People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Mick Barry and his colleague councillor Brian McCarthy.

Ahead of that meeting Uisce Éireann said a representative from the company would “not be available” to attend.

Blackpool resident Sonya Cashman was among those at the protest today. 

Speaking at it, Ms Cashman said those affected by discoloured water felt that they had “no choice” but to take protest action on the matter.

“They [Uisce Éireann] don’t turn up when they’re invited, they won’t sit down and speak to us, so we have no choice but to come here today on a very rainy day to say what we need to say to them which is please engage with us, please come out and test our water at our source… please put some structure in place that when ye are doing the roadworks and when ye are relaying yer pipes, that we don’t have filthy dirty water coming out of our taps,” she said.

Also in attendance was Green Party councillor Oliver Moran who said he has been impacted by water discoloration in addition to many of his neighbours in the St Luke’s area.

“I’m here today to say to Uisce Éireann that we have simply had enough of this over the last 18 months… this is intolerable at this stage,” he said.

Mr Moran called on the water utility company to commit to action on the issue and to “guarantee safe, clean water”.

Taskforce 

Ahead of the protest, Uisce Éireann announced that it has established a taskforce in Cork city, dedicated to improving water quality.

“Acknowledging that water services in Cork city are not meeting the standards that customers rightly expect, Uisce Éireann is assuring the public that it continues to treat the matter with the utmost urgency, including following up with proactive callbacks to customers who have raised concerns over discoloured water,” the company said.

“The organisation recognises that, although the ongoing issues are having a significant impact on affected communities, it provides high-quality, clean and safe drinking water to over 125,000 people in Cork city every day, and based on 2023 reports to our call centre, it is estimated that discolouration affects just over 1% of customers.

“Recognising that some people may not be reporting incidents, Uisce Éireann is reiterating its call for customers to contact them directly. Each call is investigated and actioned,” it continued.

Remedial actions currently in place include: sampling, flushing, operational adjustments, process optimisation and watermains replacement, the company said.

Speaking at the protest, People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Mick Barry said he did not believe it to be a coincidence that the taskforce was announced fewer than 24 hours before the protest.

“I think that this is a sign that, by speaking out, householders in the city are beginning – and I stress the word beginning – to put Uisce Éireann under some real pressure on this issue and I think the lesson we take from that is not that we stop in our path, but that we resolve to step up the pressure on Uisce Éireann in the weeks and the months ahead,” he said.

A letter laying out key concerns was sent through the letterbox of Uisce Éireann's offices at the protest. 

Mr Barry outlined three “demands” in relation to the taskforce– among them that householders who have been directly affected would be represented, along with local authority water services workers.

The second demand is that Uisce Éireann would meet “face-to-face” with those impacted and, thirdly, that water would be tested at households where water is running brown or orange.

Sinn Féin councillor Mick Nugent told The Echo at the protest that he believes the issue warrants a national inquiry.

“People are rightly concerned about the effects on health and the effects on appliances in the home as well.

“I’ve said it previously at city council meetings, I think it warrants a national inquiry as to what is going on at the moment,” he said.

Referendum on water ownership 

Also in attendance at the protest were local authority water services workers calling for a referendum on water ownership, which the Government has previously said it is committed to.

“We’re looking for a date from the Minister [Darragh O'Brien] on the referendum on water,” Don Carroll, a water services worker with Cork County Council, told The Echo.

The Government has previously stated that public ownership remains central to its vision for water services, however, Mr Carroll pointed out that water has been privatised in other countries and that the referendum needs to happen.

Under the Framework for the future of Water Services, all water services are being integrated into Uisce Éireann.

Beyond 2026, local authorities will no longer have any involvement in the direct provision of water services to the public.