Water safety too important to be left to private sector

Trade union Unite said today that the latest revelations regarding ongoing breaches of drinking water safety in Cork again highlight the need for a referendum enshrining public ownership of water services in the Constitution.

Unite is part of the Keep Water Public group of unions demanding that the government ‘name the date’ for the long-promised referendum enshrining public ownership of water services in the constitution. Unite has condemned the decision to omit this commitment from the current programme for government.

Unite’s Irish secretary Susan Fitzgerald said: “Over a year after tests commissioned by Unite showed safety levels being breached, it’s shocking that Cork is still facing a water safety crisis.

“The government needs to address the immediate issues causing contamination, and they must finally deliver on our long-promised water referendum. Our water services need to be not just publicly owned, but publicly managed. Water safety is simply too important to be left to the private sector.”

Early last year Unite, which represents water service workers in Cork and around the country, commissioned tests which showed similar breaches, with the HSE laboratory conducting the tests concluding that excessive levels of iron and manganese in samples tested meant the water was “not suitable for human consumption.” This week it was reported that new tests show levels of manganese breaching both EU and World Health Organisation limits.