As many as 10% of residential households in Dun Laoghaire may be affected by lead water pipes.

Green Party representative for the area, Cllr Ossian Smyth, is calling for action to be taken, and outlined the health concerns related to lead consumption, particularly to infants and young children.

Cllr Smyth said: "People have the expectation that the water they pay for is clean and safe to drink, but the latest figures provided to me by Irish Water prove that the problem of lead contamination has been seriously underestimated. My research has shown that as many as 8,500 homes in Dun Laoghaire - Rathdown may be affected by lead contaminated drinking water supplies.

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"It is time for the Government and Irish Water to act on the recommendations of the EPA and to implement their request for a national strategy to achieve compliance with the lead standard. Thousands of households are clearly going to require financial support in order to implement the necessary changes, and the Department of Education also needs to outline how it is going to rectify the problem where it exists in schools.

"I believe the Government and Irish Water should commit that no household which is affected by this problem will be charged for water consumption so long as their supply is contaminated by lead."

(CD/MH)