John Gormley

– Minister must investigate unused funds and call off FF attack dogs

Green Party Chairman and Health spokesperson John Gormley TD today accused Environment Minister Dick Roche of engaging in spin and smear and called on him to concentrate on solving the problems of water contamination in Galway and elsewhere.

Deputy Gormley said: “The Minister’s implication that Mayor Niall Ó Brolcháin had access to €21.5m is absolutely absurd. What the people of Galway need now are practical solutions, not ridiculous accusations, and a full investigation of what occurred. Any such investigation will quickly reveal that Mayor Ó Brolcháin has for years been striving – often on his own – to improve the safety of water on behalf of the people of Galway.

“The Mayor has a thick file containing the representations he has made to city officials and the Government over the years on the urgency of upgrading Galway’s water treatment facilities – the very issue which has led to this dangerous outbreak of cryptosporidium.

“The €21.5m allocated by the Government for capital investment in Galway’s water treatment facilities was available only to city officials, and was beyond the budgetary control of elected councillors. The Mayor would dearly love to have been able to use these funds for their proper purpose, but the reality, under the current political system, is that elected local authorities simply do not have sufficient powers. The disaster in Galway adds a great deal of impetus to our calls for political reform in order to give local authorities and directly elected mayors the powers they need to properly serve their communities.

“The Minister should launch an independent investigation into why council officials did not make use of funds available for capital investment in the city’s water treatment facilities sooner.

“While Niall Ó Brolcháin was striving to protect public health, the Fianna Fail members of Galway City Council either did nothing or mocked him, in one case accusing him of scare-mongering. The Minister should call off the attack dogs, and silence his two-faced colleagues on Galway City Council. I am convinced they will be considerably quieter when the truth of their own inaction emerges from this crisis.”

Deputy Gormley meanwhile praised the efforts of the Deputy Mayor of Clare, Cllr Brian Meaney, who has been actively trying to improve water quality in Clare since he was elected to the county council, and who now faces a potential cryptosporidium crisis in his own county.

“Cryptosporidium is already in the water supply in Ennis and it may only be a matter of time before levels surge and an outbreak occurs. A lack of infrastructure and a failure to update an antiquated water supply, which also leaks millions of litres of water a day, has led to this situation. The Government needs to listen to Cllr Meaney and take action in Clare before it is too late.” Deputy Gormley warned.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 30th, 2007 at 11:57 am and is filed under Health, Press releases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.