KENNY WELCOMES SCHEME TO DEAL WITH COST OF LEAD WATER PIPES
Posted on June 9, 2015 5:14 PM | Permanent Link
Dublin Bay North Labour TD Sean Kenny has welcomed the announcement of a National Strategy to reduce lead exposure in drinking water, which includes a grant scheme to cover the cost of replacing lead water pipes in homes.
"I raised concerns about lead piping with the Government last month and so am very pleased about this latest development to tackle the problem."
"Tests on drinking water in Dublin homes (up to last December) were showing worrying levels of lead and my constituents have expressed serious concern. One house in Raheny had more than 80 times the safe limit of lead content."
"Details of the grant scheme will be announced in the coming weeks. The scheme is a part of a new National Strategy to reduce lead in drinking water. As well as the introduction of the grant scheme, Irish Water will commit to replacing any lead piping on the public side of the property where owners undertake to replace lead plumbing."
"Other elements of the National Strategy include advice for householders and property owners regarding the risk of lead in drinking water and advice on how the risks can be mitigated. There will also be a requirement for the owners of all publicly owned buildings, including local authorities, to investigate if there are any internal lead plumbing and pipes in buildings, and, where any is found, to develop plans for the replacement of the lead pipes as part of capital/maintenance programmes."
"Irish Water has written to some 28,000 notifying them of this potential issue. However, as many as 200,000 houses are believed to have a problem, with Dublin having more cases of lead pipes than other parts of the country, but I believe that this is a national issue that needs to be dealt with as part of the renewal and reinvestment in our water supplies and I very happy that the Government has responded with a National Strategy to deal with the matter and I commend Minister Alan Kelly for his hard work."
