McNamara: “A month of dangerous readings, and the public were told nothing”

Independent MEP for Ireland South Michael McNamara has demanded answers from Uisce Éireann and the HSE over why people in Ardfinnan went a full month before being told not to drink their water.

Figures released under Access to Information legislation show that network samples taken on 9 September 2026 were already well above the 200 µg/L limit for aluminium. Results continued to breach that limit through September and into October, peaking at 2,373 µg/L on 4 October, almost twelve times the legal limit. A Do Not Consume notice was not issued until 9 October.

Uisce Éireann says the HSE was consulted on every result received. The HSE, for its part, advised a Do Not Consume restriction only on 9 October.

Speaking today, Michael McNamara said:

“Someone knew. Uisce Éireann has told us the HSE was consulted on all of these results from the very start. So I want to know what was said, what was advised, and why a month of readings like these did not trigger a warning to families who were drinking this water every day.”

“A reading of 2,373 on 4 October was not a marginal breach. It was a red flag. Yet it took another five days before the public were told not to consume the water. That is not acceptable for a public utility, and it is not acceptable for the body responsible for protecting public health.”

“People in Ardfinnan have already lived through months of uncertainty. They had to rely on Freedom of Information requests to find out what was in their own taps. Information about drinking water should be given to the public by default. It should not have to be prised out of the system.”

Mr McNamara said he will be raising the matter with the European Commission, given the obligations Member States have under EU drinking water law to protect consumers and keep them informed.

“Uisce Éireann and the HSE must publish a full timeline: when each result was received, who was told, what advice was given, and why that advice did not lead to action sooner. The people of Ardfinnan deserve the truth.”

Gaza Scholarships

Despite it’s rhetoric on Palestine, the Irish government is denying visas to Gazan students who’ve obtained scholarships to study in Irish universities.

Today, I urged Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan to decide their appeals in time for it to matter to whether they can take up their offers.

Funding to counter drugs intimidation clearly inadequate – McNamara

Last week we were tragically reminded of the risk posed to society and innocent people by drug debt intimidation by events this week, and it is clear that the funding to counter this drugs intimidation is inadequate, according to Independent MEP for Ireland South, Michael McNamara.

“Having raised this issue in the European Parliament, and met with senior members of An Garda Síochána over the summer, I was aware of the Drug Related Intimidation & Violence Engagement (DRIVE) Garda project. The problem is that many, including many affected by drug debt intimidation, which is spreading like a plague through our society, are not aware of it,” McNamara said.

“It only receives €280,000 in government funding annually, or a little over €13,000 per Garda Division, so it’s little wonder it’s not well known.

“In the recent budget, an additional €65,000 was allocated nationally for additional training, to promote awareness of the DRIVE Project, and hold a national conference ‘to review progress with stakeholders from the community, voluntary and statutory sectors, as well as Department of Health and Government officials.’ That alone is likely to cost at least the entire €65,000 of additional funding provided,” McNamara claimed.

He contrasted this with the government allocating an initial €341,000 from its EU Presidency budget to host the AI Summit 2026 held last week, to which both Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland provided further resources.

Ireland’s first national data report on drug-related intimidation, published this year by the Health Research Board, recorded: 

• over 1000 cases across every county of the State in 2024-2025,
• almost two-thirds of victims were living with family members and over one-third of those cases were actively experiencing intimidation at the time they sought help,
• drug-related debt was present in over two-thirds of cases, ranging from under €100 to more than €20,000,
• nearly three in ten victims endured intimidation for more than a year, 
• in over a third of cases no support was offered to the individual despite their disclosure.  

“This reporting, though welcome, is just the tip of the iceberg, McNamara said. “There isn’t a community in Ireland, whether urban or rural, that isn’t affected. We cannot afford not to combat this drug debt intimidation. To fail would allow drug gangs to become more powerful than our State. To combat them requires the government to provide leadership and, especially, funding and it is proving neither,” McNamara concluded.

EU Sanctions

If we become that which we criticise, then those external actors who threaten our democracy have won.

The Council’s recent sanctioning of EU citizens without any process or rule of law does more to undermine our democracy than it does to protect it.

Emergency Gas Storage in Ballycotton

Government “strategy” has shifted from no emergency gas storage to one week’s reserve. We need a lot more. The proposal to repurpose the depleted Ballycotton gas field into a large-scale underground natural gas storage facility offers that.

As we accept the inevitable reliance on gas in the near term, we need to reopen exploration of and extraction from our own natural gas fields instead of importing fracked gas. It’s far cleaner and offers security of supply