UISCE ÉIREANN IS donating a water treatment plant that can treat 40,000 litres every hour to Ukraine to help provide clean drinking water in war-struck areas.

Unicef has estimated that around 1.4 million people in eastern Ukraine currently have no access to safe running water.

Uisce Éireann donated two containerised water treatment plants to the country last year and is now sending another.

The plant will be sent from Ireland to Ukraine within days, “helping to supply communities in need with vital supplies of clean drinking water”, the water utility company said.

The unit’s capacity to treat up to 40,000 litres per hour means it can supply 6,200 people, or the equivalent of 1.6 million one-litre bottles of clean water, each day.

A fourth plant with a treatment capacity of 120,000 litres per hour is also due to be donated in the coming months.

In a statement, Uisce Éireann CEO Niall Gleeson said that “access to safe water is a fundamental human need and we can often take for granted given our access to fresh and safe water here in Ireland”.

“We know that the situation in Ukraine has resulted in water supply being disrupted entirely or severely polluted, meaning it is unsafe for drinking,” Gleeson said.

“We hope our donation of these units will play a role to help some of the people suffering in Ukraine access safe water.”

Minister of State at the Department of Health Anne Rabbitte said the move “exemplifies the many ways Ireland, through its people and its state agencies, is showing its solidarity with the people of Ukraine in their time of need”.

This donation demonstrates collaborative approaches to providing practical and important solutions to support the Ukrainian people.

She said the water will benefit “thousands who are struggling to source fresh, safe drinking water”.