17 JULY 2018

ICSA rural development chairman Seamus Sherlock has called on Irish Water not to use the current dry weather as an excuse to force a pipeline across Irish farmland. “Water restrictions are in place because of leaks in the current infrastructure. There is no justification for anything other than fixing those leaks and certainly no valid case for jeopardising the livelihoods of the estimated 500 farmers along the proposed route.”

Continuing Mr Sherlock said, “It makes sense to fix the current problems with the pipe network and then reassess the situation. Only then will we have certainty around future water requirements and alternatives to building a cross country pipeline costing over one billion euros can be considered. What makes no sense is to pipe water half way across the country for it to leak back into the groundwater through faulty pipes.”

ENDS