Tipperary has become the epicentre of a debate between Irish Water and farmers facing a compulsory purchase order to construct a 170km pipeline to bring water from the Parteen river basin to Dublin.

Irish Water told the Irish Farmers Journal that it would not know how many compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) would need to be issued until its consultation process is complete. A €1.3bn Water Supply Project (WSP) was announced last week by Irish Water, which cited the construction as vital for ensuring the supply of water to the greater Dublin and surrounding areas.

“If growth in water demand is contained to 2%, we will survive to 2025 without the WSP,” Irish Water managing director Gerry Grant explained to an Oireachtas hearing last Wednesday.

“Over the last four years, underlying growth in water demand in the greater Dublin area was 1.9% – that’s how tight the situation is.”

However, opposing groups, including farmers who are facing CPOs, have strongly contested figures put forward by Irish Water, with Grant revising previous figures under media questioning last week.

Listen to Tipperary farmer Liam Minehan in our podcast below:

Leakages

According to work done by Emma Kennedy, who runs Kennedy Analysis, and whose husband’s family farm will be affected by the pipeline, up to 57% of water in Dublin is lost through leakages, with some water pipes estimated to be up to 140 years old.

However, Irish Water insists that even if the pipe leakages were fixed, Dublin and the greater area would still have a water supply issue due to the increasing population.

Planning for the project has been ongoing since 1996, and both ground water supply and desalination plants have been dismissed as unviable options by Irish Water.

Schism

A schism between an urban demand for water and a rural drive to protect land and livelihoods, was keenly felt during last week’s Oireachtas hearing, with Sinn Féin deputy Eoin Ó Broin calling for an independent review in light of strong conflicting reports from both sides.

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