Clare Councillors say not being able to meet representatives of Irish Water in person to discuss concerns about infrastructure in this county is ‘disappointing’.
Elected members met the utility in an online briefing earlier this week about controversial plans to extract water from the River Shannon to the Greater Dublin area.
Irish Water says it’s reviewing all feedback from that meeting and is committed to meeting Clare Councillors again to discuss the issue.
Whitegate-based Fine Gael Councillor Pat Burke says there are a number of issues in this county that need to be thrashed out.
Statement From Clare County Council
Irish Water is committed to working openly and transparently with elected representatives at both local and national level. The utility provides a dedicated support desk to respond to queries across all Irish Water departments.
Irish Water also provides support at a local level to Councillors through regular scheduled Councillor Clinics where utility personnel are available to answer queries face-to-face and discuss local issues raised and broader changes that impact at a national level.
The statutory public consultation on Irish Water’s draft Regional Water Resources Plan for the Eastern and Midlands (RWRP-EM) Region began on 14 December 2021 and will continue until 14 March 2022.
As part of the public consultation, Irish Water organised a project briefing on the Regional Water Resources Plan for the East and Midlands Region for Councillors in Clare County Council this week. A project update was also included on the Water Supply Project, East and Midlands Region and other Irish Water projects planned in Clare.
Irish Water is providing briefings and webinars to stakeholders, including the Local Authorities, as part of the ongoing statutory public consultation on the Regional Water Resources Plan for the Eastern and Midlands Region. This is our second statutory consultation as part of the overall National Water Resources Plan and will be followed by three more statutory consultations on the remaining plans for the rest of the country (the other three regions) in the coming months. Public webinars are also ongoing at this time and two evening webinars have been added to the schedule over the next fortnight. There is a designated project email address and any project-related queries can be sent to the team at [email protected]. In addition, Irish Water will be engaging in a further round of non-statutory public consultation on the Water Supply Project following the adoption of the Regional Water Resources Plan for the Eastern and Midlands Region and will provide further briefings in person to all stakeholders including elected representatives, as part of this process.
Outside of the ongoing project consultation, Irish Water remains committed to engaging with elected representatives. We hold regular Councillor Clinics in each local authority at which Councillors can meet Irish Water staff and discuss local issues/queries. The most recent Councillor Clinic for County Clare took place on Monday, 10th January. Elected representatives can also engage with Irish Water via our designated Local Representative Support Desk, as well as our 24/7 customer care line.
We are reviewing all feedback from the meeting with Clare County Council earlier this week. Our team is committed to meeting with the Councillors again and we will be contacting Clare County Council to schedule this.
