Kildare County Council to write to Uisce Éireann over supply concerns

No more houses may be built in Newbridge until Uisce Éireann addresses ongoing supply concerns, a Social Democrats councillor for Newbridge LEA has warned.

Cllr Chris Pender tabled a motion at a recent Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District meeting, held on Wednesday, February 19 2025.

Cllr Pender's motion called on the council to write to Uisce Éireann seeking “an immediate investigation” into ongoing severe water pressure issues experienced by residents along Ballymany Road (R445).

His motion further called on Uisce Éireann to provide a timeline for remedial works to resolve the supply problem.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Pender said that like other councillors, he has been receiving emails from multiple residents along the Ballymany Road, who are experiencing ongoing severe water pressure issues.

This was happening “in old estates, new estates” and from people in multiple other areas in the town, he said.

He said Uisce Éireann is responding to people telling them it's a “capacity issue”, but they are not responding “properly, effectively or efficiently.”

“This is an issue that is only going to get worse”, Cllr Pender warned, adding that if the problem is not addressed, an entire section of the Ballymany Road will be without water supply.

This, he said, “is not acceptable.”

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There was a need for Uisce Éireann to come into council chambers, he said, and explain “what they're going to do to rectify this.”

He warned that if the situation were not rectified by Uisce Éireann, then “no more houses can be built in Newbridge, because we cannot have people without water.”

This is something, he said, that was “extremely serious”, and Uisce Éireann needed to answer questions in relation to the matter.

Cllr Peggy O'Dwyer (FG), supporting the motion, said that like Cllr Pender, she had received numerous complaints about water supply on the Ballymany Road.

One resident, she said, handed her “about 15 Eircodes” of homes along Ballymany Road which had been affected, with one resident, who had an engineer call out, reportedly told “they needed a plumber.”

It was agreed by members of the Municipal District committee to write to Uisce Éireann with the terms of Cllr Pender's motion.