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DONEGAL DEPUTY PEARSE Doherty has called on the Minister for the Environment to provide funding to fix ongoing water problems in the Lifford area.
The Sinn Féin TD published a picture of discoloured water flowing from a tap in a Lifford property yesterday evening and told TheJournal.ie that the image “speaks a thousand words”.
He has submitted a question to Minister Phil Hogan to query if money will be made available for new pipes in the area.
He said the problems had been ongoing for six years and it is currently impossible for some residents to wash dishes, have showers or even make cups of tea.
The picture above was taken last weekend and almost a week later, the water remains discoloured. The homeowner says the problem occurs about twice a month.
Donegal County Council says it will need national funding to replace the old, rusted and broken pipeline between Stranorlor and Lifford. In a statement to TheJournal.ie, it said:
Whilst the source water in question is very good, the nature of the pipeline between Ballybofey and Lifford is the main cause of water discolouration in some areas when bursts are experienced. Council staff are continuously managing the network to ensure constant supply to the public and are continuously scouring the pipelines to protect water quality. Upgrade of the supply pipeline is required however, to maintain water quality and ensure continuity of supply.
In this regard, following a county-wide survey of the mains network, a significant element of the main is proposed to be replaced between Ballybofey and Lifford, subject to national funding being made available. This would bring about the necessary improvements that would enable the Council to guarantee a continuous quality service to the area.
Doherty says the council and the Department need to stop “passing the buck”.
“In this day and age, the two need to get their heads together,” he said.
The local TD noted that the water problems were becoming a financial burden on families, with many having to replace clothes, kettles and washing machines.
Fianna Fáil Councillor Gerry Crawford says the problem needs to be addressed at national level urgently.
“We don’t want to hand over a disaster to Irish Water,” he added.
The Department of the Environment has advised that the issue is a local one that will be addressed by council.
They want to charge for water of that quality? What tablets are they on?
Water tablets probably.
…and they shouldn’t have to pay LPT either in our opinion
Ahhhh Bisto.
You would get a nice tanned glow after a wash in that stuff.
as a fellow used to say to me in the pub years ago ‘ if you can’t drink it, rub it in ‘
In an ideal world, local councils would take care of this work and have tax raising powers and then fund this work themselves.
But it suits everyone to have the current situation. The sitting opposition TD gets to make a song a dance about it. eventually, the minister gets to show his patronage and the sitting government TD can be pictured at some sod turning ceremony.
In the meantime, the person who needs to drink the water puts up with that.
Not a hope I’ll be paying any water related charges they plan on bringing in! So gross.
I’d rather have that billion year old stuff than that !!!
Maybe you can enlighten us then Grace. Where will the Councils get the money to fix this if no-one pays water rates???
Take a cut in their wages & unjust expenses maybe .. That’s a start .
Start with taking a proper commercial tax rate from google amazon etc. they basically tax free.
I thought they got it already originally from the car tax
The water in Donegal looks like that. The water in Roscommon has cryptosporidiosis, Galway water gets it every couple of years…. and our government wants us to pay for it..ya that makes sense!
As scandalous as it was, the effected only a small part of Galway. The water in Galway in general is delish.
You lucky lucky b……..ds. All we get in cork is drinking water with nothing in it your so lucky you are .
Looks like a stream of tomato soup.
It reminded me that I haven’t had a cup of tea all day.
If that is what the flouride is doing to the old pipes, i’d hate to see what it’s doing to our insides! :p
Smithwick’s on tab?!!! Ya lucky feckers!
Sure just boil it. Be grand.
Well there you have it, that’s all the shit that flows out of this dictatorship of a government not only do you have to listen to them now it comes out of your sinks excepting you to drink it.
First world country my arse.Thats actually disgusting.
First fluoride and now there’s iron in the water …
dont knock the vitamins
They cant even have a cup of tea, things have gotten serious. The government must act now to restore tea to the people. Probably a tea tax.
Wow bet they want to charge a extra tax for the water that makes your tea extra strong.Lovely colour .Who says water doesn’t have a taste.
The thing that really worries me about this is Ireland have very high rate of formula feeding. People are using contaminated water to feed newborn babies!!
I hope they get higher water charges than the rest of us next year. Lucky feckers. We don’t have a municipal Smithwicks supply here in Dublin.
Well just to give people an insight… That is my picture my taps and my so called water. After 6 years of this and past to every flipping ass that we call TDs and government pearse Doherty is the only person that has brought this to light and is trying to help me and many other people in this area. For the ones who want the water tax ask yourself would you pay it on your house for that kind of water because I won’t until I have the human right of clean drinking water and I know that I and my children can bath and not come out tangoed. I am out a complete fortune because of this WELL NO MORE. I have nothing else to give.
If the tap wasn’t in the photos it’d look like a nasty dose of the runs.
Rest of us get Fluoridated water, they get Tango.
dont always believe what you read or see lyons tea on tap !lucky gits bet they won the car x
As I said earlier this week on another article, “the water up here tastes like copper, shite and rust” and now the proof is in the tap!!
It looks like the tea’s already made! Nasty
They are slowing killing the population with fluoride anyways, sickest country in Europe.. Great article in hotpress few months ago, a report by Declan Waugh, truly scary stuff, get your finger out and run a story on it Journal.. This has to be stopped!
Sinn Féin is against the water tax. Where does Pearse Doherty expect the money to come from to fix these kind of problems and update the existing water network around Ireland?
Most of the water pipes in this country were laid in the 19th century. Surely over 100 years, they’d have the money to replace them?
The Donegal SW TD had to fight the government for a basic human right – the right to vote – for his constituents . Now he has to fight for another basic human right – the right to safe drinking water – again in Donegal. Well done Pearse Doherty for highlighting this.
Ronan read my previous post. And quit paying out our money to gambling bond holders.
It’s not water its oxtail soup.
That’s just nasty
Appreciate the humour guys but would you touch the water from this source anytime in the forseeable future? Hope the Journal removes the photo soon, it makes me sick just looking at it!
Hey you guysssss!
It’s just the tea tape…!
Mmm Bisto!!!
“We don’t want to hand over a disaster to Irish Water,” says Fianna Fail councillor. Too late; Dublin City Council has already done that!
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