Sonya Cashman and her family live in Blackpool in Cork city. Their household has been plagued with dirty, discoloured water for 18 months. John Mulcahy lives in Ballyvolane with his family, which includes two-year-old twins. Their household has been plagued with dirty, discoloured water for three years. Sonya and John will be speaking at a public community meeting tonight organised for all households directly affected by this issue. Last night, Uisce Éireann told the press that it would not accept the invitation it received to speak at the meeting because it does not have anyone available. It had seven people available to address a Cork City Council committee meeting last week but no one to address the people directly affected. Does the Tánaiste think it is acceptable that a taxpayer-funded entity can avoid engagement with people affected in this way? Does he think it is acceptable that 18 months after this crisis first emerged on a mass scale in Cork city, Uisce Éireann has yet to engage directly with those affected at any public forum?

It depends on the nature of the public forum. There should always be engagement between State agencies and the public in structured ways that can lead to the provision of information, questions being answered and issues dealt with.

It is unacceptable that there should be discoloured water in the two houses to which the Deputy referred because overall, drinking water quality from public supplies in Ireland, as confirmed by the Environmental Protection Agency, is high in Ireland. It states that water quality from public supplies remains high, consumers can be confident it is safe to drink, and compliance rates are consistently high year to year with over 99.7% of samples complying with bacterial and chemical limits in 2022. I will ask the Minister concerned if he will speak to Uisce Éireann with a view to engaging with the residents concerned in Ballyvolane and Blackpool.