Uisce Éireann criticised for change in the way it deals with councillor queries
A Mayo councillor has accused Uisce Éireann of diminishing the power of municipal district councils, following changes made to how the company will respond to notices of motions going forward.
At the November meeting of the Claremorris and Swinford Municipal District, members discussed correspondence from Uisce Éireann outlining new procedures for responding to notice of motions.
While acknowledging councillors as “important stakeholders,” Uisce Éireann said it had updated its process for handling motions raised by municipal district councils.
A notice of motion is a formal proposal tabled by a councillor who is looking for an action or a response from a public body on a specific issue.
A dedicated email system was originally implemented to ensure that all motions received a formal response from the company prior to the next council meeting.
Uisce Éireann said it had anticipated that such motions would come from full council meetings and relate mainly to strategic or policy matters.
However, the experience over the last year showed that many motions were being raised at the municipal district or area committee level, and were often operational or local in nature.
Uisce Éireann said these issues are better dealt with through its Local Representative Service Desk (LRSD).
A change was implemented last month whereby motions made at municipal district level will be redirected to the LRSD, with responses issued directly to the councillor who raised them.
Motions passed at full council meetings will continue to receive formal responses through the existing procedure.
The update was met with criticism from Cllr Damien Ryan, who said it effectively weakened the role of municipal district councils.
“Notices of motion, whether they come from the [county] council or the municipal district, are no less important and shouldn’t be treated any differently,” he said.
“I completely refute their attempt to diminish the power of a notice of motion. Municipal districts were set up to have their own autonomy, and that needs to be respected.”
The Fianna Fáil representative said the company must maintain its engagement with local representatives.
“We’re entitled to have our motions treated the same, whether they come from the [county] council or the municipal district.”
He requested that his comments be sent back to Uisce Éireann “in very firm terms.”
Head of the Claremorris and Swinford Municipal District, Padraic Flanagan, said the change in process was “slightly surprising.”
“You would have thought that a motion from a municipal district would carry as much weight as one from the main county council,” he added.
Moving away from the notice of motion issue, Cllr Ryan also raised concerns about rising charges for water connections.
“What are they doing in relation to multiple metre charges, which now amount to €100 per connection for many customers in this county, not to mention the biometric charge that comes after that?” he asked.
“They’ve buried their heads in the sand and hid behind the CRU, and I’m disgusted that nothing has been done about it.”
However, not all comments about the company were critical.
Cllr Ryan welcomed the €29 million investment made in the Tourmakeady Water Treatment Plant, which benefits more than 42,000 Uisce Éireann customers across Mayo, Roscommon and Galway.
Independent councillor Richard Finn said his own dealings with Uisce Éireann had been positive, specifically in relation to a major project in Claremorris.
“We get a lot of negative comments about Irish Water, but from my own experience, any time I make representations, they’re dealt with efficiently, courteously, and positively,
“Irish Water has made a major €18m investment in the town’s water and sewage treatment plant,” he said.
Cllr Finn said the upgrade will increase the plant’s capacity from 5,000 to 8,000 people, securing water and wastewater services for future development.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.