Minister of State for heritage and electoral reform Malcolm Noonan has called for water testing for private rural wells to be made free.
Around 500,000 people living in rural areas rely on private domestic wells for their drinking water.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends that these water supplies be tested once per year. The cost of these tests can be over €200.
Speaking at the Rural Water Conference in Athlone, Co. Westmeath today (Thursday, September 12), Minister Noonan, a Green Party TD for Carlow-Kilkenny, said “it was time” for the cost of private domestic well water testing to be made free, and for the testing process to be made more accessible.
“Environmental health meets public health in our kitchen taps, and checking that your household has a safe drinking water supply is something that should be made free and easy,” the minister said.
“I think well water quality and free testing should be a key issue for the next government. It’s a simple measure that I think is very important for 10% of the population living in rural areas, who depend on these supplies,” he added.
According to the Green Party, Ireland has the highest incidence of verotoxigenic (VTEC) E.coli in Europe, and a substantial proportion of cases have been linked to contaminated private drinking water supplies.
However, private domestic wells fall outside the drinking water regulations and as such are not checked or monitored, which, according to the EPA, is a potential risk to public health.
Minister Noonan said: “Too many people in rural areas are drinking water from contaminated private supplies, completely unaware that they are putting their health at risk.”
The minister said that he has set up an expert group to examine this issue and to consider how the government could provide support to well owners.
“I don’t think it’s right that the financial burden, particularly for testing, should be on people living in rural areas, when this is not the case for people in towns and cities,” he added.