The lack of urgency about addressing a raw sewage leak into the Liffey from a Kippure site is “criminal,” according to Wicklow councillor, Gerry O’Neill.
The leak, which Mr O’Neill says is issuing from the septic tank and percolation area of a ‘refugee town’ reportedly built without planning permission, is affecting a source of public water, with Mr O’Neill saying, “we all know it’s running into the Liffey. Water will go downhill”.
It was recently reported that Kippure Manor Estate in Blessington, Co. Wicklow, is facing enforcement proceedings over buildings that are being used to house around 400 international protection applicants, which according to Mr O’Neill, are set to be joined by 200 more.
“There’s no application for an upgrade of sewage, septic tanks, percolation area. That application would be sent to Irish Water, they’d have a big input into that,” Mr O’Neill said, adding “there’d need to be a massive treatment plant to cater for 600 people. That’s a town, a big town”.
A local complaint about the issue sent to Uisce Éireann received the response that as the national water company is only responsible for maintaining the public water and public sewer mains infrastructure, the management company of the construction site ought to be contacted about the leak.
Locals have expressed concerns about the site’s proximity to the Liffey, which feeds into Blessington Lakes, given that the 26-square-kilometre body of water provides an estimated 50% of Dublin’s drinking water.
It was reported last October that the Blessington Lakes are infected with toxic blue-green algae, which often results from pollution.
However, Mr O’Neill said that Uisce Éireann has a large say in the progression of developments where proximity to a lake or feeder stream is concerned.
“I’ve known objections by Dublin City Council and Irish Water, and the applicants could have been six or seven miles away,” he said.
“Irish Water are based in Ballymore Eustace, at the filtering station at Ballymore Eustace. If you look up any planning application in this part of the world, nine out of ten Irish Water have a submission in on that application, so they’re calling the shots on this.”
The Kippure Manor Estate owners, Dublin-based Tondo Limited, have received two warning letters from Wicklow County Council, the first in June 2022 and the second in January of this year, both related to unauthorised structures built on the site.
Tondo Limited’s directors are listed as Eoghan Coughlan, 39, and 63-year-old Joe Christle.
“I’m extremely concerned that there seems to be little urgency as regards getting this rectified in Kippure. I am astounded. I’m dealing with planning applications for many, many years and my understanding is that this huge development is continuing. I can’t understand it for the life of me,” Mr O’Neill said.
“This is criminal. The authorities are aware of this issue, of raw sewage from the septic tank and percolation area, for some time now. What we’re seeing is little urgency as regarding getting this rectified,” he said.