Sinn Féin bill to hold Uisce Éireann to account for water outages introduced in the Dáil - Darren O’Rourke TD
Wednesday 14th May 2025, 14:16 pm
Sinn Féin’s Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2025 would ensure that Uisce Eireann properly communicates with and more importantly, supports, households and businesses during water outages, according to sponsoring TDs Darren O’Rourke, Eoin Ó Broin, Thomas Gould and Johnny Guirke.
Speaking after the bill was introduced in the Dáil today, Teachta O’Rourke said:
“This bill has the potential to bring much-needed relief to households and businesses who experience water outages.
“The bill mandates Uisce Éireann to put proper plans in place, including communications and supports, in the case of water outages. This has often been a major issue in many areas across the state. In my own county of Meath, communities in Ratoath and Ashbourne faced many problems for years, while those in Trim and Duleek continue to. The bill’s provisions will be of considerable assistance and will address the worst aspects of Uisce Éireann outage response.
“Significantly, the bill mandates Uisce Éireann to develop a code of practice for water service outages. The legislation mandates measures such as a dedicated response for vulnerable, domestic and business customers; a detailed communication plan for all customers, public representatives and local authorities including two hourly updates; the duty to provide emergency replacement water within agreed timeframes; and thresholds for rebates and compensation following planned and unplanned interruptions.
“Water services are not getting any better, only last week we were informed of water restrictions in Kells. In Duleek, there have been numerous outages since the start of the year. This is all due to a chronic lack of funding by this Government into water infrastructure in Meath and further afield. To add insult to injury, when outages do occur, and they are all too often in many places, Uisce Éireann’s response is atrocious. Our bill will go some way to address that. It will ensure Uisce Eireann is obliged to have adequate procedures in place to reduce frequent negative impacts felt by residents and business owners.
“Public representatives, householders and businesses have consistently called on Uisce Eireann to put contingency plans in place when outages occur.
“Today, Sinn Féin introduced the Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2025 as a sensible proposal which reflects the deep frustration of communities impacted, and holds Uisce Éireann to account, mandating it to ensure that its response in the case of outages is fit for purpose. I would encourage the Minister to look upon it favourably and act on its provision.”
