'Absolutely dire': Uisce Éireann in hot water over six-day outage impacting Limerick towns

MULTIPLE areas across west Limerick were left without water for several days earlier this month, with Dromtrasna among the worst affected, enduring outages for up to six days. Other impacted communities included Mountcollins, Meenkilla, Abbeyfeale, Templeglantine and Meenoline.

At the November meeting of the Newcastle West Municipal District, Cllr Liam Galvin criticised Uisce Éireann for what he described as “absolutely dire” communication during the crisis. “We were never notified as public representatives about what caused the problem or when it would be fixed. The text alert system told people the water was out but never when it might come back,” he said, adding that he was inundated with calls for days.

Cllr Michael Collins branded the utility “another faceless body,” and questioned why staff still operate in council-branded vans. He suggested removing the council’s name from the vehicles due to confusion among local residents.

Cllr John Sheahan went further, describing Uisce Éireann’s correspondence as “atrocious,” claiming that some email updates “might as well just say ‘f-off’.”

In response to the criticism, Uisce Éireann acknowledged the concerns but defended its approach. “We recognise the importance of keeping communities informed and have a wide range of established and dedicated contact channels,” a spokesperson said.

The utility said that in the case of unplanned outages, information is posted online as soon as a supply issue is confirmed, and noted that vulnerable customers registered with them receive direct communication.

They added that two press releases were issued during recent disruptions in the Abbeyfeale area and encouraged customers to sign up for real-time text alerts with their Eircode and mobile number.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme