Uisce Eireann has warned there could be disruption to water supplies in Dublin and around the country later this week due to strike action.
Precautionary boil water notices are in place in Waterford and Tipperary and Uisce Eireann warned that there will be potential disruption in Dublin and other counties on Thursday and Friday, when the strikes start.
The speed at which bursts to the water network are repaired in some of counties impacted by the strike action is a particular concern, namely in; Fingal, South Dublin, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Cork city, Cork county, Kerry, Louth, Carlow, Galway city and Wexford.
Members of Unite trade union are taking the strike action, which comes after Unite members voted to reject the ‘Framework for the Future Delivery of Water Services’ document put forward by the Workplace Relations Commission last year.
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Tom Cuddy, Head of Operations for Uisce Éireann said: “We would appeal to Unite to engage with the relevant representative bodies and avoid putting the water supply and wastewater service for homes and businesses at risk.
"While Uisce Éireann is not a party to the dispute our Incident Management Team is continuing to assess the potential impact of industrial action and we are working closely with management in the Local Authorities to put appropriate plans in place to minimise and manage any disruptions to water and wastewater services.
“Our expectation was that the core activities of water services are regarded as essential services and should be exempt from industrial action. However, neither Uisce Éireann or the Local Authorities have been able to get clarity through the Unite Strike Committees, that they will continue to operate critical treatment plants or respond to emergencies.
"Unfortunately, Uisce Éireann has no choice but to put several Boil Water Notices in place to protect public health. The Boil Water Notices may run for several days as we will need time to assess the impacts on treatment plants and processes post-strike."
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