Crimlin/ Ross Group Water Scheme located outside Castlebar, are informing a local councillor that they have applied for credits and await a response from Uisce Eireann on the take-over of their private group water scheme.

The trustees of the group scheme are responding to an interview by Fianna Fail councillor Martin McLoughlin on Midwest News earlier this week – where the councillor urged the group scheme to engage with Uisce Eireann, through Mayo County Council, to seek credits for an outstanding debt, if the scheme is to be taken over as promised by Uisce Eireann.

Cllr McLoughlin had been speaking with a representative of Irish Water at a meeting in Aras an Chonatae on Monday last in regards to the take over by the water utility company of the private group scheme.

An email from Crimlin/Ross Group Water Scheme to Midwest news today says that they were misrepresented during a recent broadcast with public representative Cllr. Martin McLoughlin.  

The statement reads: Firstly, the interview with Cllr. McLoughlin gives the impression that the trustees making up the group water scheme committee were not acting in the best interests of the scheme members. A statement which is damaging, causing the scheme members to lose trust, and to which we would like a public apology.  

In order to clear up this misrepresentation, we would like to give some background. This scheme has been run on an entirely voluntary basis for the best part of 25 years. In recent years it was motioned, at an Annual General Meeting, that the Scheme should seek to be taken over by Irish Water. The committee fully engaged with Mayo County Council and was assigned an engineer to act on our behalf with Irish Water, now known as Uisce Eireann. In 2019 all the accounts were in order, ready to be handed over to Irish Water. However, to date this hasn’t happened. Naturally, as time passes, and giving the age of the scheme, leaks have inevitably occurred which has resulted in additional billing from Uisce Eireann.  

The committee arranged a review of the schemes water consumption and carried out remediation works to repair any leaks and help water conservation. The cost of all works was lodged as Leak Credits to balance accounts with Uisce Eireann. 

Due to recent changes in legislation, no charge can be made to domestic users for water consumption within normal levels. As such the scheme has no means to raise funds to pay debt. Furthermore, would the scheme have been taken over in a timely manner any further debt would not have incurred.  

We hope that Uisce Eireann will work with our assigned engineer to expedite the take over which is long overdue. 

In addition to the above, a statement regarding the schemes current financial position was made without providing the relevant background to you and your listeners, and without consultation or verification from the trustees. 

As you can expect, this complete misrepresentation has and will cause untold damage to the scheme. It was also very unfair of the Councillor to publicly  comment on the current scheme, and in turn, the best efforts of the committee members, without speaking to any committee member to clarify the situation. 

Yours sincerely  

Crimlin/Ross GWS committee.

Midwest News brought the content of the email to the attention of Cllr McLoughlin today and he insists that there is a charge for water supplied to a group scheme from Uisce Eireann, as in this case the water to the private group scheme is coming from the public supply.

He says, as he stated on Midwest News that there are credits available from Uisce Eireann, but that at present there is an outstanding bill to the water utility company in excess of 70,000 euro and he says there is an onus on the private group scheme to address it.

He says it is in the interest of the group to continue to make "every effort" to engage in the process with Uisce Eireann and Mayo County council to make an application for these credits that could substantially reduce the debt.

 He concluded saying he had attempted to make contact with a trustee of the group ahead of his interview with Midwest Radio but failed to do so.

Crimlin/ Ross Group Water Scheme responded to the councillor’s response today saying we have already applied for leak credits and are awaiting action from Usice Eireann.