Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 31 Jan 2023

Vol. 1032 No. 4

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Employment Support Services

Deputy Mattie McGrath

I am glad the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, is here to discuss this issue. In recent days, the announcement that the dairy company Corman Miloko, which employed 31 people at its manufacturing plant facility, is to close at the end of June came as devastating news for the families of those impacted, and the town of Carrick-on-Suir and surrounding areas. A statement by the company said the decision was as a result of a reduction in the volume of business contracted at the facility in recent years and follows significant restructuring efforts to enable it to operate in a highly competitive marketplace.

Corman Miloko was the last of the traditional employers in Carrick-on-Suir. It has been there 70 years or more, and it is there longer than I am on this earth. Between it and the tannery in Carrickbeg, they must have had 700 or 800 jobs. Corman Miloko has an excellent workforce. I remember when they worked three shifts around the clock and the company also supported local hauliers and Glanbia tankers with a washing facility. They were a tremendous workforce and it was a good company to work for, let us be fair about it.

I know the Minister of State has been engaging and will engage further with the factory and the company. The town of Carrick-on-Suir is decimated because we do not have jobs. We have the Carrick-on-Suir Development Association, CoSDA, and the many local employers and Councillor Kieran Bourke have done Trojan work to try to keep the town going, but it is becoming a satellite town for other towns as we do not have any industry.

Tá cúpla ceist agam. Has the option been explored for an alternative use for the new manufacturing plant, which is located just off the N24, in order for it to continue to have an important role in the local economy? Will a task force be established to examine the potential for job creation in this area? What efforts is the IDA making to attract foreign companies to set up operations in those areas?

I cannot emphasise enough how good the workforce have been and there have been many families I knew over the years who worked there. I hope they will be engaged in other Glanbia plants or, if not and if they prefer to take redundancy, I hope they will be well looked after because they have earned it and they deserve it. They are a good workforce.

It is a very delicate site. The front wall of the plant is only 5 m or 6 m away from the N24. At the back, just metres away, there is the newly developed Suir Blueway, which is a huge tourist attraction for cyclists, walkers, fishermen and the like. We cannot have this site go in any way into a state of dereliction. I am not giving up the ghost that we will find some other business for it, but we must maintain that site. It is a highly technical site. At one time, there used to be odours but that was all sorted out with a state-of-the-art, high-tech percolation treatment unit. It is a good plant and it is up and running. We have until June and, please God, some other use will be found for it but, if not, the staff must be supported. As I said, with Tipperary County Council and CoSDA, the plant must be put to good use and it cannot be allowed to fall into a state of dereliction.

The tannery is a distant memory in Carrick-on-Suir. Corman Miloko has given long service but this is a sore point with the people of Carrick-on-Suir, south-east Tipperary and east Waterford. We want to make sure this does not go the same road and that we will find an alternative, and keep a willing workforce engaged in productive work.

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Deputy Neale Richmond)

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter and giving me an opportunity to address it. Like the Deputy, I was extremely disappointed to learn the news of this closure and my first concern goes to those workers and their families, as well as the wider population of Carrick-on-Suir straddling the Waterford and Tipperary border that so many of us know so well and have enjoyed visiting so many times.

The Department learned of the impending closure of the plant last week. Unfortunately, as the Deputy knows, Corman Miloko has experienced reduced volumes in recent years and restructuring efforts simply were not successful. The company has now begun its consultation process with all existing employees regarding a redundancy programme and it has been in touch with my Department about this. I can assure the Deputy that Tirlán and Enterprise Ireland will remain in close contact with the company, as will departmental officials, to support the workers and the company through this very delicate process up to and beyond June.

I have requested that officials in my Department monitor the situation carefully and, crucially, work closely with the Department of Social Protection to do whatever we can for the employees affected.

I know this is a frightening time for the employees and their families, but it is important to talk to them about what opportunities there are and what work will be done by the Government and its agencies to help them through this very difficult process. They are the number one key priority, as well as all the related people, be they family members or the people who rely on the workers in this business second-hand in Carrick-on-Suir.

At a time when there is so much job creation in the country and, in effect, full employment, it is very simple for many people to dismiss any sort of redundancy and say there are always jobs out there, but as Deputy Mattie McGrath knows better than I do, many of these people have put their entire lives into this enterprise. As he says, it was a good plant but, unfortunately, restructuring of the parent company has meant it has had to move its operations elsewhere. However, that does not mean we give up on the site or, more important, on the workers. I know that this does not make the loss any easier for those who work in the plant, but I trust it gives them some hope that the Government will put a significant effort into them as people if they want to retrain or reskill or, more importantly, help them get the many jobs that are unfilled in this region in the dairy and production sector. The Deputy knows as well as I do the number of companies around Tipperary and into Waterford who are keen to get high-quality staff like the people who worked in Corman Miloko and gave their lives to it.

It is important to stress that we are there to support and help those who find themselves losing their jobs or without work to avail of training courses, financial support and mentorship. I urge everyone impacted to reach out to their local Intreo office to see what is available to them when a statutory redundancy package is offered. The Government will ensure that the package is fully compliant with the requirements Corman Miloko has in Irish law.

Deputy Mattie McGrath asked for more detail on the future use of the site. The site will go back to Tirlán, while the equipment will go to Corman Miloko, which will use it in its other operations. I have great hopes for this site. As the Deputy rightly says, it is in a perfect location in the region and in the country to attract good, high-quality investment like the 600 additional jobs Enterprise Ireland has brought to Tipperary in recent years, in addition to the surge in jobs in Waterford.

Even though the job losses will be very difficult for many people, no stone will be left unturned to make sure new jobs are provided and, crucially, that the enterprise goes into such an important town as Carrick-on-Suir and the affected regions nearby.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

I thank the Minister of State for his positive reply. I hope he will engage with the administrative district members. I mentioned Kieran Bourke and the current chair, David Dunne.

There is a wonderful plant upstream, the Merck, Sharp & Dohme, MSD, facility. It is often said that foreign direct investment companies come and then go away, but that company has been there nearly 60 years now. It is only a few miles up the river. The Carrick-on-Suir Development Association, COSDA, is a wonderful organisation with great people involved with the businesspeople. We have a wonderful network of schools, sporting clubs and everything else in Carrick-on-Suir. The spirit of the people cannot be questioned. They are willing to work and engage with the Minister of State in a task force with companies such as Merck, Sharp & Dohme, which helped in the past. I hope we will have a replacement plant on the site because it is so close to the road. The river is right behind it, and we got deliveries from barges long ago.

This plant has served us well. There is a dedicated workforce, some of them second generation, whose parents worked there as well. The plant precedes my birth, and I am 64 bliain d'aois. We must work sensitively with the county council, the councillors I mentioned, COSDA and companies like Merck, Sharp & Dohme and other businesspeople in Carrick-on-Suir that have great ideas and the private employers that give great employment to people. All hope is not lost. The workers must be looked after. The plant must be kept open.

I was a bit alarmed to hear that the equipment might be moved by the parent company. Tirlán, formerly Glanbia, started off with south Tipperary farmers, ordinary people in the spirit of the co-operative society, the meitheal. We must go back and invoke again that spirit of the late great Canon Hayes and try to revitalise this plant and get new people into it as soon as the company leaves because the wheels and cogs must be kept turning. We cannot leave it to become derelict in any way. We must work hard to try to keep it going.

Deputy Neale Richmond

I assure Deputy McGrath that hope is most certainly not lost in regard to this site and the people who have worked in this plant for so many years. We must put the redundancies that are happening in context. It is nothing to do with the efficiency of the plant itself. It is certainly nothing to do with the 31 workers who have put their blood, sweat and tears into it. Unfortunately, it is due to the decision of the parent company.

Deputy McGrath might acknowledge that this is happening at a time when the economy is growing and we effectively have no unemployment. We are able to invest time, as the Deputy talked about, not just into the town of Carrick-on-Suir but into this specific site.

The Deputy asked for a couple of undertakings. Of course we will engage with the local councillors both in Carrick-on-Suir and over the border in Waterford. I have already had a meeting with Senator Ahearn about the issue.

Deputy McGrath mentioned Merck, Sharp & Dohme. It is convenient that I will be meeting the company next week in the Department not just about this plant but about wider issues in the south east and mid-west, where it has a lot of operations. I give the Deputy an undertaking that I will raise this specific area and the need for reinvigoration in this area with the company when I meet it next week.

I hope I can get across that I want to work with the Deputy on this issue. I share his passion to make sure that once the statutory issues have been addressed, we get these extremely skilled people back into the workforce because we badly need them, in particular in the dairy sector. This is not like the dark old days when the shutting down of a plant like this could destroy an entire town. There are opportunities for jobs and training and, more important, for these skills to be put back into the economy extremely quickly.

I look forward to working with Deputy McGrath in the coming weeks, into June and beyond, to make sure that we breathe entrepreneurial life into the town and surrounding areas.

Child Abuse

Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

Since November we have waited for the publication of Dr. Geoffrey Shannon's report on his investigation of abuse into St. John Ambulance. While it is important to state that I and my party, Fianna Fáil, as well as the Minister, believe the report must be published, it is more important to put on the record why Mick Finnegan, the tireless campaigner, believes this publication to be in the public interest. I welcome Mick to the Gallery tonight. He is here and listening to what I am saying. Without his bravery and tenacity in seeking truth and justice, we would not be here debating this issue.

The following is based on what Mick has said to me. He says that in the past few years a man synonymous with children's rights, advocacy and protection has painstakingly listened to many voices, including his own. He says it was thanks to that care shown and the understanding of Dr. Geoffrey Shannon that he feels strong enough to speak out to us, his representatives. He says the report into the darkest times in St. John Ambulance was commissioned by that organisation to shine a light on the truth of events. He says he knows the truth of those events: that he lives the truth every day. He says that he and thousands of others, victims of sexual abuse, cannot choose the time of the day or night to think and dwell upon what was stolen, irreplaceable, childhood and innocence. He says he never knew truth could be physically heavy, not until he and many more silent victims were once again denied a simple act of transparency to allow the truth to come out. He says he earnestly hopes that none of us ever has to carry this weight. He says he knows this House is well aware of the actual refusal, despite the words of St. John Ambulance, to release Dr. Shannon's report. He thanks so many of us who courageously spoke out to call for the release of the report. In particular, he wants to thank the President, Michael D. Higgins, for his heartfelt intervention. To quote him from a different poem in an early context:

The Prophets are weeping,

For the words that have been stolen,

From texts that once offered,

To reveal in ancient times,

A shared space,

Of love and care,

Above all for the stranger.

Mick says that today he and others feel like a stranger in their own land. The continual refusal to publish the truth of the organisation acts as a further abuse, not a historical one, but is seared into their everyday lives. He says that once again, they feel as children in the dominion of those who hold power over them and their story. He says that this House can help to remove that hold over others.

He goes on to say it can insist that those great voluntary organisations, which do so much for our youth and our culture and in a major way define our country as one of the finest places to live, cease all connections with this organisation until the unaltered report is published and our citizens can see and learn from a truth that has blighted so many lives. Those are Mick's own words, which are very passionate. I am delighted to read them out tonight.

This is not the end, however. Survivors need this report to be published - full stop. There are no reasons for St. John Ambulance to do otherwise. Have we not learned that openness and truthfulness are key when addressing such issues of abuse? In addition to President Higgins, a number of parties have called for this report to be published. I put on record Fianna Fáil's call for this report to be published. As I have said many times in the Chamber regarding so many horrors in our past, survivors must be listened to. They are at the centre of this and deserve to have the report published. The Minister has written to the organisation asking that this be done. I ask him again to do all he can in his power to make sure this report is published.

Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Deputy Roderic O'Gorman)

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I join her in welcoming Mick to the Gallery. I am glad of the opportunity to speak on the record of the House on this issue.

Reports of historical sexual abuse in St. John Ambulance in the 1990s have been highlighted in recent years by a number of Deputies and Senators. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, highlighted it when she was in opposition. I engaged with St. John Ambulance in 2021 regarding how the organisation proposed to respond to these reports. Dr. Geoffrey Shannon, senior counsel, an internationally recognised expert in child protection, was subsequently commissioned by the board of St. John Ambulance in March 2021 to conduct an independent review into the handling of historical child sexual abuse within St. John Ambulance.

As I am sure the Deputy is aware, the Charities Regulator, under the aegis of the Department of Rural and Community Development, is Ireland's statutory regulator for charitable organisations, including St. John Ambulance. I and my Department do not have a role in the governance of St. John Ambulance. Nevertheless, as we well know, abuse is not consigned to the past and it is my role in collaboration with Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, to protect children now. As previously advised in my statement to this House in December 2022, the terms of reference of the review, as fully agreed by Dr. Shannon, set out that he would examine how St. John Ambulance handled past allegations of child sexual abuse. The review was also tasked with examining the current standard of child safeguarding in the organisation. Tusla is responsible for assessing any current risk to children arising from historical allegations of abuse. Tusla has liaised with St. John Ambulance regarding the progress of the review and to improve safeguarding processes within the organisation. The St. John Ambulance safeguarding statement, revised under advice from Tusla, has now been deemed compliant by the Tusla safeguarding statement compliance unit.

I wrote to St. John Ambulance in December 2022 to enquire as to the status of the report. I received a reply from the commissioner that the report was complete, had been received by St. John Ambulance and would be subject to legal review. In reply, the commissioner noted that the survivors are understandably eager to review the findings of the report and reiterated that the board of St. John Ambulance was committed to publishing the full report immediately after the relevant legal review had taken place. The reply from St. John Ambulance further stated the board was committed to ensuring the legal review was as quick and efficient as possible.

I again wrote to St. John Ambulance on 26 January. I again urged publication as early as possible, noting that the delay in publishing this report is of great concern. Each delay in publication risks a further diminution in the trust of survivors in this process, and it is the survivors who are central to all of this. I once again reiterate and strongly urge the publication of this report and that it be made available to survivors as soon as possible.

Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

I thank the Minister. It is very important, from speaking to Mick tonight, to note the work the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, have done on this matter and that they have spoken to and met with Mick regularly. That is very important and Mick has been very appreciative of it. As the Minister said, however, this is about the survivors, including Mick. This is how we now need to make sure we get this report. As the Minister said, the report was completed by Dr. Shannon in early November. It was handed over to St. John Ambulance on 28 November. That was ten weeks ago. We are now nearly three months on. I am glad the Minister mentioned that he wrote again on 26 January, which I welcome. However, it is unfair on the survivors that we have not got that report. I ask all the representatives in the House to make sure we all stand united to get that report. It is important we have support for that from all parties tonight but the situation is unacceptable. We need to get this report urgently.

Deputy Roderic O'Gorman

Like the Deputy, I see the strong support across both Houses for swift publication of this report. I spoke in the Seanad just before Christmas during statements there on the importance of rapid publication. This review of practices within St. John Ambulance has been asked for by survivors for a long time. It is extremely important to them in their ability to seek - I do not want to use the word "closure" - a recognition of what happened to them, not only the sexual abuse itself but the manner in which their complaints to, or engagement with, an organisation that should have protected them were handled. That is why it is so important the outcome of that review is published in full and rapidly. It is also important that there is direct engagement with survivors and that they are able to see directly the outcome of this report and do not read excerpts from it in media publications.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I again thank Mick for joining us this evening. I reiterate on the record of the House my call for this review to be published as soon as possible.

Medicinal Products

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. I will raise the issue of hyperemesis. As she is aware, it is a condition whereby pregnant people suffer from severe nausea and vomiting. It is very debilitating for people and can lead to many of them ending up in hospital through dehydration or weight loss. It impacts 1% to 2% of pregnancies.

There was a campaign by Hyperemesis Ireland relating to the medication used to treat hyperemesis, Cariban, which is incredibly expensive, prohibitively so for many women in their pregnancies. It can cost up to €3,000 over the course of a pregnancy, which is a huge amount of money. Hyperemesis Ireland campaigned to make Cariban a free medication for women. It is welcome that last year the Government recognised that campaign and made that medication free and available on the drugs payment scheme. That change was brought in on 1 January this year. Unfortunately, the joy and relief that came with that was very short-lived because the reality is that the system that has been set up by the HSE in order for people to avail of Cariban is causing huge problems. There are significant barriers to people getting it.

Under the current system, to get this medication, women have to register and be seen by their consultant. Their consultant has to be the one to prescribe the medication for them. As the Minister will be aware, a pregnant person will not see a consultant probably for the first 12, 13, 17 or 18 weeks of their pregnancy and, during that time, they will have to put up with hyperemesis from very early in the pregnancy and suffer greatly. We are talking about people who cannot get off the sofa because they are so sick. They potentially have to look after other children, are not able to work and are not able to afford to go the private route for this medication.

I have heard from women who are not taking their full dosage because they cannot afford it. They are struggling to get to work while having other children to look after. It must be highly difficult for them to deal with. There are big problems because GPs are unable to prescribe this and you have to go to a consultant to get it. People are going to accident and emergency departments to try to get to the consultants. However, I have heard from women who have had to sit for six or seven hours in an accident and emergency department to get to a consultant. Then, when they get to the consultant, the consultant is not in a position to prescribe it for them or they may not get to see a consultant. I heard just today from someone who is 18 weeks pregnant, had her first consultant's appointment today, has had hyperemesis since her sixth week and has been paying €70 a week for that. When she went to her appointment today, she was informed that the consultants have had no contact from the HSE regarding the forms or the process by which they have to prescribe this and that they have no way of offering the hypothetical supports set out by the Government.

I think the Minister of State will appreciate that while it was a really positive thing that Cariban was made free under the drugs scheme, it is not working and there needs to be a review. Primary care and the GP should be the ones prescribing it in the absence of availability and access to consultants.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Anne Rabbitte)

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. She has given me the challenge of using an awful lot of words that are very complicated, but I will do my very best.

On behalf of the Minister for Health, I thank the Deputy for raising this topic and appreciate that it will be of concern to many women in Ireland. Hyperemesis is a severe form of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy that affects some women and must be diagnosed and treated appropriately. The Government is keen to ensure that anyone encountering this condition receives the support they need. As part of budget 2023, the Minister announced €32.2 million in funding for women's health. That included dedicated funding for Cariban, a medicine used to treat hyperemesis. As of January 2023, this medicine is now available to those women who need it. I take fully on board what the Deputy has just said; it comes with its own health warning.

Unfortunately, reaching this point has not been straightforward. Under the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, only medicines that are licensed and have marketing authorisation from the European Medicines Agency or the Health Products Regulatory Authority can be added to the HSE's formal reimbursement list. Cariban is not licensed and therefore cannot be added to the reimbursement list. It is instead classed as an exempt medicinal product. There are three medicines containing doxylamine-pyridoxine which are licensed in Ireland. They are Xonvea, Exeltis and Navalem modified-release hard capsules.

To date the market authorisation holder of Xonvea has not progressed the pricing and reimbursement application further with the HSE. The market authorisation holders for Exeltis and Navalem have not submitted pricing and reimbursement applications to the HSE. Therefore, to address the unmet need of patients with hyperemesis, the HSE's medicines management programme was asked to review the clinical evidence available on the unlicensed exempt medicinal product Cariban and to make a recommendation on the appropriateness and feasibility of an exceptional patient-specific process for access to the product.

Following the recommendations of the medicines management programme, an exceptional arrangement has been put in place to support the reimbursement of Cariban. Cariban is now available under the community drugs schemes on an individual patient basis for the treatment of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy where consultant obstetrician-initiated. That is the crux of the issue. While the initial prescription for Cariban must be issued by a consultant, further prescriptions can be issued by a patient's GP. Consultant initiation is the case for all unlicensed exempt medicinal products under the community drugs schemes. The HSE advises that where a drug is not licensed, the expertise of a specialist in the relevant field is necessary to ensure safe usage. If, however, a licensed product were approved for reimbursement, this arrangement could then be reviewed or revised.

The HSE therefore encourages clinicians, along with the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the national clinical programme for obstetrics and gynaecology, and other healthcare professionals to encourage the market authorisation holders of the available licensed medicinal products, Xonvea, Exeltis and Navalem, to progress with the formal pricing and reimbursement process in Ireland.

I feel there is a process being put in place but it is not solving the problem. I have to acknowledge that the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, did listen to the campaign. He worked really hard to ensure we could find a solution. Unfortunately, by the time you hit 20 weeks or 18 weeks, you are probably over the worst of your sickness and you also will not have seen your consultant, so there is a problem with waiting the 20 weeks to see the consultant.

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

There are a few things in the Minister of State's response that I find quite concerning. The first is that it is quite a hands-off response. It sort of says, "We have done what we can do and now it is up to the clinicians and the people suffering from this to lobby the drug manufacturers to get them to put the application in." That is not good enough. There is an issue. If, as the Minister of State says, the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, recognises it as an issue, he should be looking for solutions to help women in order that the supports that were put in place in January of this year are available to people, women can access the drug for free and there is not a discrepancy between people who can afford to go privately and those who are forced to suffer alone with this.

The other thing is that the response states that "the expertise of a specialist in the relevant field is necessary to ensure safe usage". GPs prescribe this - it is not that they do not - and if anyone knows a pregnant woman, it is her GP. The GP is the specialist and the person with the medical and personal knowledge of the woman to enable him or her to prescribe this. I do wonder whether the Minister had any discussions with consultants when it came to coming up with the solution because it seems to me that not only does the process not work for pregnant people but it is not working for consultants either. They have not been told what they are meant to do. No consultant would have the time to have people coming in through accident and emergency to try to get prescriptions written. Consultants do not do that. It seems completely outside their area to have people come through the hospital system, through accident and emergency, to get them to write prescriptions, particularly considering the winter we have had, when hospitals have been telling people to stay away. Now we are saying that a woman who is vomiting so much that she cannot lift her head off a chair has to go sit in an accident and emergency department, in an area where respiratory syncytial virus, RSV, and everything else is going around. We are sending these highly vulnerable women through accident and emergency to beg for prescriptions from consultants who do not have the forms, do not know how to go through the process and are not in a position to prescribe the drug. It just does not make any sense.

Deputy Anne Rabbitte

I thank the Deputy again for raising this matter. I said to the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, before coming here that I did not know exactly what I would say in my closing statement. Having listened to the Deputy, however, and being a female who has been through three childbirths, and who was quite sick during two of them, I will be honest with her. A solution was found. Cariban was the drug, and the reimbursement was put in place. That is great and welcome and was well done. However, if you are at home lying on the couch and you are really ill, you need to go to your GP. You do not have the energy to get into the car to go sit in an accident and emergency department.

I will do one thing first. I will call on the drug companies that have the licences for Xonvea, Exeltis and Navalem to put in an application. I am not leaving it to the HSE; I am asking the drug companies to start that process. That needs to happen.

The second thing I will do is call on the GPs and the consultants to work together, perhaps using telemedicine and so on.

It is unlicensed so we have to work within the rules of it. If a GP requested a prescription from a consultant initially and if he was to be able to prescribe that, that would assist in fast-tracking the delivery of it in the interim while the drug companies are putting in a reimbursement for it. I understand why the risk has to be held by the obstetrician but we also have to put the person at the centre at the end of the day and we have to think about that woman who needs assistance. While we welcome the work that has been done, a little bit of collaboration and pragmatic thinking are needed on how we can find a solution to this.

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

Will the Minister of State ask the Minister to review this process with the HSE?

Deputy Anne Rabbitte

Yes.

Water Quality

Deputy Pat Buckley

They say that they always save the best for last, so we will see. I have raised this issue in the Chamber numerous times. It is the boil water notices in east Cork, specifically in Whitegate. I want to give the Minister of State a synopsis of what is going on. It started on 14 February 2016, so we are coming up to the seventh anniversary of these boil water notices. The following is a synopsis of press headlines on this over the years and in recent months and weeks.

One headline states "East Cork residents face years more of drinking water quality issues". The article continues, "Residents in East Cork who have been forced to buy bottled water for over a year face another three years of water quality issues despite efforts to fast-track a solution." Another headline states "Councillors demand action as parts of East Cork face more boil water notices for years". The article continues, "Councillors will also demand compensation for an estimated 10,000 [we will call them] customers who are having to buy bottled water on a near daily basis." Sinn Féin's Councillor Danielle Twomey claimed that councillors are left in the dark about the issues. She said:

They're stonewalling us. It's so disrespectful to us. They only engage with us when they want planning permission.

Another headline states "The Cork villages that 'just don't trust the tap water anymore'". The article continues, "Locals are frustrated that heavy rains invariably mean boil notices, buying drums of water, and taking extra care when bathing children." Another headline states "Cork households affected by lengthy boil water notices 'should be compensated'". The article continues:

Unanimous support in county council for those who have suffered long-term inconvenience and agreement that they must get an alternative supply and tax credits. Hundreds of householders throughout Co. Cork should get some form of compensation for being hit with repeated and lengthy boil water notices. Cork county councillors want Irish Water to either provide an alternative supply and/or the government to provide additional tax credits to those who suffer such long-term inconvenience.

Another headline states "Boil Water Notice for Killavullen Public Water Supply Remains in Place". Another headline states "Irish Water boil water notice reminders for Macroom and Whitegate".

That is just a little synopsis; I could have a very large file of them compiled over the course of seven years and the boil water notices come every three to four months. I am constantly listening to people talk of their frustration and I know where they are coming from. While Whitegate is on the main road to the refinery, the surrounding areas are extremely rural, from upper and lower Aghada, Rostellan back into Cloyne and possibly back into Ballinacurra and Midleton. Even at the far side, in Leamlara, we had a boil water notice a while back.

I mention the additional cost. We are in a cost-of-living crisis and the price of everything has gone up. Energy costs for boiling water have gone up, as have the price of petrol and diesel, and frustration is borne out of these notices. I listened to a radio interview today on Cork's 96FM and the lady who spoke said it is bad enough with everything that is going on and having to truck in and out with bottles of water but that there has been zero communication from Irish Water, only press releases. She suggested they could even put in additional recycling bays for all the plastic bottles and containers they have and that this would be some form of recognition that Irish Water was listening to them. The Minister of State has listened to the testimony from my colleague, Councillor Twomey, saying they are stonewalled. I found it difficult as well when I tried to engage with Irish Water. It has improved slightly on sewerage, but when it comes to water it still seems to be the same press release coming out with no clarity being provided to people. There are businesses in all those towns and villages that have additional costs. This is an additional cost again and no clarity is provided. I will come back to the Minister of State to give her a rundown on this after her reply as I will be able to answer when she replies.

Deputy Anne Rabbitte

I am taking this on behalf of my colleagues in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of providing safe drinking water in east Cork. Safe and secure drinking water is an issue of both national and local importance. I appreciate the Deputy's concerns for those communities in Whitegate, County Cork, and surrounding areas affected by the current boil water notice. I also acknowledge the other towns and villages to which the Deputy referred in his contribution.

The Deputy will appreciate that the operation of Whitegate regional public water scheme is a matter for Uisce Éireann, which since 1 January 2014 has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. In turn, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, as environmental regulator, is responsible for setting quality standards and enforcing compliance with EU directives and national regulations for the provision of drinking water. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has made enquiries with Uisce Éireann and I am informed the boil water notice currently in place for the Whitegate public water supply was issued on 29 October 2022 following consultation between Uisce Éireann, Cork County Council and the HSE. This boil water notice was issued to protect approximately 9,500 customers in Whitegate, Aghada, Churchtown, Ballycotton, Saleen, Shanagarry, Ballinacurra and areas of Cloyne. The notice was issued because of increased turbidity in the raw water. There is a history of this issue at this source as it is susceptible to raw water quality issues after heavy rainfall events. Boil water notices have been issued on Whitegate public water supply a number of times over recent years.

This is clearly not a tenable situation and it is causing severe inconvenience to those reliant on this water supply. To solve this problem and prevent it occurring again, Uisce Éireann is building a new water treatment plant to serve Whitegate and environs. In 2022, Uisce Éireann announced a multimillion-euro investment that will put an end to the frequent boil water notices this community has had to endure. I am pleased to report that, in January 2023, Uisce Éireann, working in partnership with Cork County Council, submitted planning permission for a new state-of-the-art water treatment facility that will service approximately 10,000 people in the east Cork area. Subject to the planning permission being granted by July 2023, the construction contract will be signed in quarter 4 of 2023, with construction mobilised in quarter 1 of 2024. The construction work would be due for completion in quarter 4 of 2025. The EPA will ensure the new plant meets all applicable standards before this supply is removed from the EPA's remedial action list.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage's priority is to ensure that people's health is protected and that adequate water is available for all consumers. We all want to see this notice lifted without undue delay, but only when the HSE and the EPA have confirmed the water supply is safe. Additional information and advice on boil water notices is available on Uisce Éireann's website or by calling Uisce Éireann's 24-hour service line. As part of budget 2023, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, secured funding of more than €1.65 billion to support water services. This includes €1.56 billion in respect of domestic water services provision by Uisce Éireann. This overall investment will deliver significant improvements in our public water and wastewater services, support improved water supplies throughout Ireland, including in rural Ireland, and support a range of programmes delivering improved water quality in our rivers, lakes and marine area, making a significant contribution to addressing Ireland's needs.

I also take on board what the Deputy said about communication, which is a vital point in all of this. The one thing Uisce Éireann has failed to provide me details on in the note it has given me is how it communicates with the public.

Deputy Pat Buckley

I spent 22 years in sewerage and water so I know the craic on it. My area has Whitegate oil refinery, the power station and the gas station. There are alternative water sources and I am wondering why Uisce Éireann did not look at those as an alternative or short-term fix. One line could be tapped into the other. The area where the problem is could be blanked off and flushed and another water supply could be tapped into. That is just a suggestion.

I thank the Minister of State for the answer and I know where it is coming from and that she is only here on behalf of the Minister. However, as I have said, it has been going on for seven years. In two weeks' time it will be seven years, on and off. It is worse than a light switch, and a bad one at that.

The Minister of State now understands where the frustration is. People understand it takes time for progress. That is fair but the Minister of State mentioned communication, which is shocking. When there is no communication, one gets rumours. When one gets rumours, one will get no clarification. Then it starts to fester. That is when people lose faith.

I stated that there is no mention of reimbursement for the cost of buying any of the water. Many of these businesses are paying rates. I suspect the local authority is still collecting rates on it. Many of the businesses are left to their own devices. People have no information and there is no assistance. Some people feel there is no hope.

People are told there is information on the website. Many of these people are elderly. It is a rural area. One does not have top-class broadband everywhere. It does not make sense. It is necessary to go back to what we do when we go knocking at the door, to call to them the same as the postman.

What I would say on behalf of the people of east Cork is that everywhere there are boil water notices they want answers and assistance. They want clarity. They do not want constant bad news. They certainly do not want to wake up every few weeks to a press release, saying that this is the first they have heard of it again. This is not the way to treat people. The Minister of State will be aware that when one rubs people the wrong way, one is walking oneself into trouble and into a battle. I would love to get clarity on this.

Deputy Anne Rabbitte

I thank Deputy Buckley again. I appreciate the Deputy's interest in this issue.

Before I came in, I said to the Deputy that I was taking this issue and asked if I had discussed it with him previously. In fact, on mature reflection, it was Deputy Stanton who raised it previously with me in relation to Uisce Éireann.

Deputy Stanton's purpose in raising his Topical Issue matter that evening, no different from the Deputy, was that this is down to basic communication. There is a really good story here from local government. There is a really good investment piece going into that part of east Cork. However, the people need to feel that they are heard and communicated with. That is what Deputy Buckley is advocating here this evening. That is what is essentially missing from the piece.

My script states that Uisce Éireann has established a dedicated team to deal with representation and queries from the public representatives. If I could call on Uisce Éireann - I will take it up with the Minister - I ask that it meet with the public representatives and open a channel of communication to help alleviate the frustration of people in these communities.

Cuireadh an Dáil ar athló ar 10.32 p.m. go dtí 9.12 a.m., Dé Céadaoin, an 1 Feabhra 2023.

The Dáil adjourned at 10.32 p.m. until 9.12 a.m. on Wednesday, 1 February 2023.