This is what weather whiplash looks and feels like, and in our rapidly warming climate, we can only expect these incidents to become more severe, more unpredictable, and more destructive over time.<\/p>\n
Ireland is a wet country, our temperate climate dominated by proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, but even on this small island, there are sharp differences in local climates. The west coast of Kerry, for instance, typically receives about 1,400mm of rainfall annually, twice the rainfall in the Dublin area.<\/p>\n
Rainfall is not, however, drinkable water, nor is water from rivers, lakes or aquifers, no matter how plentiful it may be. This is known as \u2018raw\u2019 water, and must undergo extensive \u2014 and expensive \u2014 treatment to be made safe for human consumption as treated water.<\/p>\n
The average daily consumption of treated water in Ireland is 133 litres per person, which means we use about 730 million litres a day, or more than a quarter of a billion tonnes annually, all of which has to be treated and transported through 65,000km of ageing and often porous underground pipework, with 38% of treated water lost along the way through leaks.<\/p>\n
![\"Tim](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/5213239_3_articleinline_DSC_7661.jpeg\" "\\"Tim")
Tim Casey, founder and chief executive of Cork Grassland Services, checks the condition of the grass on Brian Duncan\u2019s farm in East Cork following weeks of drought. Picture: Chani Anderson<\/p>\n
Managing and maintaining this vast network is the job of Uisce \u00c9ireann, and its budget last year was over \u20ac1.8bn, of which more than two thirds was paid as a Government subvention.<\/p>\n
Uniquely in the OECD, Ireland does not impose water charges on the public, choosing instead to fund it from general taxation. This means there is no incentive whatever on water users to conserve. It is also fundamentally unfair in that more affluent households with larger houses and gardens, heavy water usage is being subsidised by taxpayers living in apartments or smaller homes.<\/p>\n
In late 2024, Uisce \u00c9ireann said excess usage fees of \u20ac1.85 per 1,000 litres would be levied on households using far above the national average consumption of 125,000 litres.<\/p>\n
However, it is clear neither the Government nor Sinn F\u00e9in are willing to support any kind of water charges, even for excessive and wasteful usage, seeing them as a political hot potato no one is prepared to grasp.<\/p>\n
In 2009, the programme for government included a commitment to introducing water charges, and on that basis, I installed a rainwater recovery system in my Dublin home during renovations that year, consisting of an underground water tank, electric pumps and UV and charcoal filters.<\/p>\n
A few years later, the government abandoned planned water charges, and I too gave up on my water recovery system: after all, it made no sense to pay to purify water while also paying taxes that subsidise free water nationally.<\/p>\n
![\"Jim](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/5213242_3_articleinline_EXM_8208.jpeg\" "\\"Jim")
Jim Harding examines river stones for signs of aquatic life on a tributary of the River Barrow near Gowran, Co Kilkenny. Harding says species that once thrived on the riverbed have become increasingly scarce as sediment, which he attributes to run-off from roadworks and construction activity, accumulates in spawning grounds and habitats. Picture: Chani Anderson<\/p>\n