Fianna Fáil is urgently calling on Irish Water to fix the pipes affected by lead contaminated water in Dublin households.

Councillor Deirdre Heaney has described the lead levels in household water in areas of Clontarf, Coolock and Raheny as a "serious public health hazard".

She said: "This is a matter of urgent public importance. We cannot tolerate a situation where so many Dublin households that pay water charges have badly contaminated water flowing from their taps.

-- Advertisement --

"In my own immediate area alone, 14 houses in St Anne's estate in Raheny have lead in their water that is hugely in excess of the legal limit. It's extremely worrying for the people concerned.

"Irish Water is well funded by the tax-payer – to the point that it has no problem shelling out millions for consultants, glossy PR stunts, generous staff perks and huge management bonuses.

"To expect one single household to pay for contaminated water, and pay again to fix their own water supply, is just crazy. A cornerstone of the Irish Water policy was the 'First Fix Scheme', which offers households help with fixing damaged pipes. The Government needs to honour this promise."

(CD/JP)