Uisce Éireann accused of 'turning off the tap' on housing in Cork

Two major housing developments in Cork, including a proposed 280-home scheme in Whitechurch, have effectively been put on hold until at least 2030 because of water supply constraints, councillors have heard.

The delays prompted calls for Cork County Council management to seek answers from Uisce Éireann about why it is "turning off the tap".

Fianna Fáil councillor Sheila O'Callaghan said a developer had recently submitted a pre-planning proposal for 280 homes in Whitechurch but was informed by Uisce Éireann that the project could not proceed before 2030 and would require a 2km extension to the local trunk water main.

The councillor accused the utility of "tinkering" with long-running water supply problems in the area.

She said Uisce Éireann has been tankering water into Whitechurch since July 2025 through a local housing estate, an arrangement that has raised safety concerns among residents.

Ms O'Callaghan said the situation was further complicated by the fact that the reservoir serving the village is supplied from a well located on privately owned land.

"This puts the village in a very vulnerable situation," she told a meeting of councillors and senior officials at County Hall.

She noted that despite successive warm summers, including what she described as the hottest and longest on record in 2026, the village remains dependent on tankered water supplies.

Independent Ireland councillor Ger Curley said councillors had previously been assured the supply difficulties would have been resolved by last summer.

"We were promised this would have been sorted out last summer and it wasn't," he said.

"This is definitely going to hinder house building going forward, and it's houses that are badly needed."

Labour councillor Cathal Rasmussen said similar issues were affecting a major proposed housing development in his home town of Cobh.

He said a large-scale scheme there had effectively been delayed until at least 2030 because of water infrastructure limitations.

Mr Rasmussen questioned whether 2030 had become "some kind of magic date", adding that similar commitments to upgrade infrastructure had previously been given for both Cobh and Whitechurch.

"Uisce Éireann is the problem yet again, and its infrastructure issues are just not being resolved," he said.

County Council chief executive Moira Murrell said officials were well aware of the challenges facing both communities.

She said the local authority would continue to raise the matter with Uisce Éireann and keep the issue firmly on the agenda.