Long-standing boil water notice in Limerick village to be lifted 'in a matter of weeks'

A SENIOR official with Irish Water has confirmed a boil notice which has been in place on the water supply in Fedamore for more than 18 months will be lifted in the near future.

Margaret Attridge, Regional Asset Operations Manager with the State-owned utility, was responding to questions from Deputy Richard O'Donoghue when she appeared before an Oireachtas Committee.

"Fedamore, County Limerick has had a boil notice for 18 months and it is going round in circles. Those 18 months have cost people in houses there between €40 and €50 to bring fresh water into the house for a family of four. That is not acceptable," the independent TD told the Joint Committee on Housing Local Government and Heritage.

In response, Ms Attridge confirmed the required works have been completed and that the notice will be lifted shortly.

"There was an issue with the capacity of the borehole to deliver water to Fedamore and we had to install new infrastructure. The works are now complete. We have drilled a new borehole. That is going through commissioning and will be operational soon," she said.

"As the Deputy knows, in that area of Limerick, the supply is from groundwater, which is at its lowest at this time of year. We are making sure, before we lift that boil water notice, that the new borehole is resilient. It will be a matter of weeks before that boil water notice is lifted. I know it has been a long time but we are nearly there with the Fedamore solution," she added.

Niall Gleeson, Managing Director of Irish Water said there have been challenges solving the issue. "I know it is frustrating and that 18 months is a long time but we have structural challenges. The vast majority of these long-term challenges are tied up in planning or infrastructure improvements," he told Deputy O'Donoghue.

Separately, Mr Gleeson agreed to make enquiries in relation to the delay in issuing a service agreement which has prevented works from starting on a 56-house development in Croom.

New superintendent appointed to Limerick garda division