I call Deputy McDonald.

Has the Minister met Irish Water? Has he picked up the telephone?

Please, Deputy. I have called Deputy McDonald.

As has been said, 600,000 households in counties Dublin, Kildare and Meath are today subject to a boil water notice. I heard the Irish Water customer service manager on radio this morning, who was unclear on how long the notice would last. She speculated that it might be a number of days, as the Taoiseach has just said. The lack of clarity will do very little to assure or comfort the 600,000 families affected. I am particularly concerned about families with young children, older citizens and those with illnesses.

For them, this is not just an inconvenience; it is a source of real stress and worry.

Of course, we can be sure this is not the only boil water notice that has been issued this year. In 2018, 44 boil water notices were issued, affecting 14 counties and, in 2017, 21 notices were issued. The one currently in place is the biggest ever issued in the State.

An incident at Leixlip water plant gave rise to this boil water notice. It is not yet fully clear what happened at Leixlip; we simply do not know. We do know that there was a previous incident at the Leixlip water plant in March of this year. At that time, a pump failure compromised the quality and purity of the water. In response to that incident, the office of environmental enforcement of the EPA carried out an audit. That audit was published on 3 April this year and issued specific recommendations and stipulated that Irish Water must submit a report to the agency within one month of the date of publication, which was by May 2019.

We do not know if the incident yesterday is related to the previous incident in March. We do not know if it was a repetition of the incident in March but we need to find out. As the Taoiseach said, Leixlip is a relatively new water plant and, like many water plants, it is privately run under the design, build and operate public private partnerships, PPPs, so beloved of, and delivered by, Fianna Fáil.

Families need to know that the treatment and provision of their water is to the highest standard. They need to know that water plants are managed and operated properly. Does the Taoiseach know if the incident yesterday is related to the incident at the same plant in March? Did Irish Water respond to the EPA report of that time within the month stipulated and were the recommendations addressed? Is the Taoiseach satisfied that the design, build and operate contract in operation at that plant in Leixlip is fit for purpose?

I absolutely appreciate that people want clarity and clear information about when the boil notice can be lifted. As I mentioned earlier, this affects my own constituency and may even affect part of Deputy McDonald's.

It does.

It is an area where there are many families and older people and it also affects my own home and my own family. We cannot give people clarity until we have clarity ourselves and, once we have that, we will provide it.

The Taoiseach might ask the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Murphy, to meet Irish Water.

The way it works is that the risk to health is low but a boil water notice cannot be lifted until there are three clear samples. Even though the water may well be safe to drink, three clear samples must go to a laboratory to prove that before the boil water notice can be lifted.

My understanding is the Leixlip plant is operated by Fingal County Council and, therefore, is not privately operated, but that may be incorrect so I will come back to the Deputy on that.

That is incorrect.

An EPA audit was done back in March. I do not know if there is any connection between that and this incident but there were five main findings on that occasion and Irish Water and Fingal County Council have responded to those audit findings.

I thank the Taoiseach. He is correct that this issue affects my constituency and my home as well as the Taoiseach's home and those of many others. People need reassurances on two levels. It is not good enough to say, "This boil water notice will be lifted some time but we cannot specify when". I agree that there must be an interaction with Irish Water and some clearer information delivered.

A bigger assurance than that is required. We need to know whether the latest incident is the same as, or related to, the incident last March. I have the EPA's audit report from that time, the Ceann Comhairle will be pleased to hear. Last March, there was a pump failure which resulted in a temporary loss of the cryptosporidium barrier at the plant. I want to know whether that is what happened this time. I also want the Taoiseach to investigate and satisfy himself that the plant at Leixlip and the contract, which is a private contract, is reliable and fit for purpose to protect the water supply to these 600,000 homes and many more.

I do not know if there is any connection between the audit in March and this incident but we will certainly find that out for the Deputy and, once I know, I will pass on the information.