City councillors left frustrated following meeting with Uisce Éireann

City councillors called for Uisce Éireann to communicate better with both the public and council members at a meeting this evening, with many unhappy with information they were provided with by the body.

A protest against ongoing water issues in the city was held outside City Hall before and while the meeting was taking place.

The meeting was attended by nine Uisce Éireann staff including the company’s head of water, and regional operations manager, and was held in committee rather than being open to the public, as many councillors had advocated for.

Sinn Féin’s Michelle Gould said she was “very disappointed” by the meeting, explaining she was one of four councillors who submitted questions in advance of the meeting, and “we didn’t get proper answers”.

She called for a vote to extend the meeting until full responses were given, but the vote was not allowed, she said, adding: “We waited long enough to meet with Uisce Éireann, and we should have been provided with proper answers before it, instead we have to wait until tomorrow when Uisce Éireann are gone.

“The bottom line is I don’t have any more faith in Uisce Éireann after tonight’s meeting.”

Labour councillors John Maher, Ciara O’Connor and Peter Horgan said in a statement afterwards that elected members had sought the meeting for some time, adding: “Even though it was held behind closed doors there is still frustration on the resolutions that are forthcoming for the entire city.

“This meeting should not be viewed as job done. This must be a continuing engagement between elected reps and Uisce Éireann in the people’s forum.

“The message must go back to central Government that this city, the second city of the State, deserves to have water infrastructure funded and delivered in a much faster and effective manner.”

Independent councillor Kieran McCarthy said the meeting showed that the partnership between Uisce Éireann and Cork City Council needs to improve.

He told The Echo: “I found the in-house meeting with Uisce Eireann quite contentious. There were many calls from all of us councillors for more communication from the body and more trust and accountability in the partnership between them and local residents and local councillors.”

However, Fianna Fáil’s Tony Fitzgerald said that the meeting went through lots of issues, in particular the quality of the water, the communication with the public and public representatives and issues such as the works undertaken to resurface roads after water works.

He told The Echo: “It was a constructive meeting, and I think Uisce Éireann got the message that the service needs to improve.”