For the fifth consecutive day over the Christmas period, households along the Athboy Road in Trim were left without a functioning water supply. Four full days — from Christmas Eve to 27th Dec thus far, at one of the most demanding times of the year for any household. Residents were unable to drink safely, shower, flush toilets, cook meals, clean their homes, wash clothes, or operate heating systems. Elderly residents, families with young children, and people hosting relatives for Christmas were forced into emergency measures — sourcing bottled water, relying on neighbours, or leaving their homes altogether.
Local Aontú Councilor Dave Boyne stated that leaving households without water for days over Christmas was “completely unacceptable” and that residents had been failed by both Irish Water and the political system that shields it from consequences. “Water is not a luxury or a discretionary service. It is a basic human right. This is an unbelievable level of incompetence from Irish Water, its basically an institutional failure”.
Cllr Boyne frustrated by the lack of action and leaving families without basic services.
“What makes this situation especially unacceptable is that part of this outage was scheduled by Irish Water! Scheduled maintenance during the Christmas period, when families are at home, demand is high, and alternatives are limited, represents a staggering failure of judgement”.
As if today, 28th December, When Meath Live spoke to Cllr Boyne he confirmed no repairs have been carried out and he stated he received a reply yesterday (see below):
He added “Irish Water’s operational failures cannot be separated from political responsibility. People need to understand, you get what you vote for. This will keep happening as long as people keep voting for a majority FFG. The buck stops with them. When communities are left without water for days at a time, responsibility does not end with a customer service statement; it rests squarely with those in power. I bet Michael Martin or Simon Harris had no lack of water on Christmas Day”.
“If this was a private company, it would face penalties, compensation claims, and regulatory sanctions. Bonuses would be retracted, heads would roll. In my opinion, Irish Water and FFG should face fines for every single outage, calculated per minute and per affected customer. Hit FFG in the pocket. Definitely hit them at the ballot box! Real consequences would change behaviour far more effectively than apologies issued after the fact”.
“All many residents wanted this Christmas was something basic: water from the tap. The fact that this could not be guaranteed is not just unfortunate — it is a scandal. An outrage. We are supposed to be one of the wealthiest countries in Europe – where’s all the money going? Not on water infrastructure anyway! The people of Trim will not accept this”.
