Farmers in the area of south Co. Tipperary are concerned over the welfare of their livestock due to industrial action which is causing an ongoing outage to households and businesses in the Galtee Regional Public Water Supply.
The outage is a result of industrial action by the trade union Unite, whose members working in water delivery services in a number of counties are in dispute with the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA).
The dispute relates to a number of workplace and employment issue, according to Unite.
However, it appears that farmers – and their livestock – are caught in the middle of this dispute.
Speaking to Agriland, one farmer in south Co. Tipperary, who is serviced by the Galtee Regional Public Water Supply, explained the situation.
“We have no water, and we’re being told it’s been turned off because of a strike, that’s the bottom line,” the farmer said.
He added: “We have no water for our livestock, simple as that… We have a couple of hours now and that’s it, and after that the tanks will be empty, nothing coming into them.
“We have basically been told to keep our cattle out of streams and rivers, so we’re all depending on water troughs, and now we are here, no water. So what do we use to give [water] to our cattle?
Uisce Éireann (Irish Water) has confirmed that it will arrange the delivery of an alternative water supply with drinking water in a number of locations.
However, this will not solve the issue for livestock, the farmer said.
He commented: “That’s fine for humans, we can go into the shop and buy it.
“I’m a suckler farmer, I’m bad enough. What are the dairy [farmers] going to be like, what are the local piggeries going to be like, if they don’t have wells?”
The farmer criticised Uisce Éireann for what he described as a lack of engagement with affected customers, saying there has been “nothing officially”.
“When it comes to paying our bills they can engage with us pretty rapidly alright, but then they leave us high and dry, literally,” he said.
The farmer added: “The first I knew of this was when I went to fill the kettle to make tea this morning… We are getting our information by word of mouth, who we can ring and who we know.”
Uisce Éireann has issued a press release on the matter, saying that customers supplied by the Galtee Regional Public Water Supply will experience low pressure, while some customers will experience loss of supply in some areas.
The company said that remedial works at a water treatment plant have been delayed due to the industrial strike action by Unite members.
Unite has said that the strike action by water delivery workers began yesterday and is set to continue until nighttime tomorrow (Friday, August 4).
Uisce Éireann said that the impacted areas include:
- Emly:
- Lattin;
- Ballinard;
- Cullen;
- Ballywire;
- Kilross;
- Limerick Junction;
- Monard;
- Lisvarnane;
- Rosadrehid;
- Bansha;
- Tankerstown;
- Kilfeacle;
- Golden;
- Cashel;
- Rosegreen;
- New Inn.
Jim Fitzgerald, regional manager for Uisce Éireann, said: “This dispute is not with Uisce Éireann and is outside our control. However, it will regrettably impact Uisce Éireann customers.
Fitzgerald added: “We would urge Unite to use the recognised dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve this issue and to engage with the relevant representatives bodies. While industrial action is a right, we call on Unite to provide guarantees that strike committees will comply with codes of practice that ensure essential services are maintained.”
Unite has also issued an statement in relation to the strike action.
According to the trade union, the action is due to the “continued refusal” of local authorities and its representative body, the LGMA, to “meaningfully engage” with the union over its members’ concerns.
These concerns relate to what Unite said is “shortcomings” in the Framework for the Future Delivery of Water Services document put forward by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) last year.
Unite said that this document was “rejected overwhelmingly” by Unite members employed in water service delivery.
According to the union, the workers are seeking the strengthening of existing commitments regarding protection of local authority workers working in water delivery services, and a removal of service and age barriers for those wishing to avail of the redundancy option.
They also want workers transferring from local authorities to Uisce Éireann to retain their public service status.
Unite has said that it remains available to meet with the LGMA, or through an agreed third party, to attempt to resolve the dispute.