Nobody is being held to account for the shambles that led to life-threatening drinking water being supplied to the people of Galway. That might be understandable if this outbreak of cryptosporidiosis was exceptional. But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been warning local authorities about the dangers posed to public health by this sewage/slurry-based parasite for years. Citizens have been put at risk in this latest outbreak. More than 200 became seriously ill. But our unaccountable, inefficient and irresponsible system of local government has reacted by engaging in blame transference.
Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, was at the forefront in talking about "catastrophic management errors" at local level. Money had been available for a new treatment plant in Galway city, he said, while ignoring the fact that it was polluted water from Galway County area that had caused the outbreak. The parasite could have come from a number of inadequate local authority sewage works; from neglected septic tanks; from farmyard slurry or from all three sources. That uncertainty reflects a lack of proper environmental planning and strict enforcement at all levels.
The behaviour of Mr Roche in criticising local officials and politicians has, no doubt, been influenced by the looming general election. But Ireland is facing prosecution before the European Court for failing to uphold drinking water quality standards. Recently, farmers succeeded in forcing the Minister to allow more intensive slurry spreading practices. The Government's record, in spite of increased spending on sewage works, is poor. A cap on the employment of specialist staff is one reason. And funds voted to local authorities are simply insufficient to meet their requirements.
The first recorded outbreak of cryptosporidium in a public water supply occurred in Co Westmeath in 2002. It became a notifiable disease two years later. Since then the number of reported cases has increased dramatically. The EPA warned last year that one-in-five public water supplies is operating under conditions of high risk because of inadequate treatment processes. The Minister and all local authorities received copies of that report. In spite of that, little has been done.
Galway was an accident waiting to happen. And other towns and cities are waiting in line. Local authorities have concentrated on dealing with E.coli, the normal threat to human health from sewage and animal waste in drinking water. They have been outflanked by this more resilient parasite that causes fever, stomach upset, weight loss and diarrhoea and can even be fatal in the young and old. It is not acceptable.
We need to change how we plan for the future. Basic water purification systems must be installed urgently. Housing development schemes should depend on the advanced provision of sewage treatment works along with educational, transport and other necessary services. Above all, we need administrative accountability.