Ireland signed the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on 1 October 1971 and ratified it on 8 December 1989.
In November 2002, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted General Comment No. 15 on the right to water. General Comments provide guidelines for States' Parties on the interpretation of specific aspects of the Convention and clarify the normative content of the rights set out therein.
According to paragraph 2 of the General Comment the human right to water entitles everyone to “sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses. An adequate amount of safe water is necessary to prevent death from dehydration, to reduce the risk of water-related disease and to provide for consumption, cooking, personal and domestic hygienic requirements. ”
Although the General Comment makes no reference to the phrase “drinkable water” the water required for each personal or domestic use must, according to paragraph 12(b) of the General Comment, be “safe, therefore free from micro-organisms, chemical substances and radiological hazards that constitute a threat to a person’s health. Furthermore, water should be of an acceptable colour, odour and taste for each personal or domestic use”.
Paragraph 37 of the General Comment of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights confirms that States Parties have a core obligation to ensure the satisfaction of minimum essential levels of each of the rights enunciated in the Covenant. In the Committee’s view, one of the core obligations in relation to the right to water is “to ensure physical access to water facilities or services that provide sufficient, safe and regular water; that have a sufficient number of water outlets to avoid prohibitive waiting times; and that are at a reasonable distance from the household ”.
With regard to drinking water quality, the EU Drinking Water Directive has been transposed under the European Communities (Drinking Water) (No. 2) Regulations, 2007. Those regulations provide that all suppliers of drinking water must ensure that the water supplied is wholesome and clean. Water that is wholesome and clean is defined as water that:
- Is free from any micro-organisms and parasites and from any substances which in numbers or concentrations constitute a potential danger to human health, and
- Meets the quality standards specified in Tables A and B in Part 1 of the Schedule to the Regulations.
A copy of the Regulations is available in the Oireachtas library.
