Latest news with #GreaterDublinArea
Irish Times
03-08-2025
- Climate
- Irish Times
Water supply for Greater Dublin Area replenishing after Uisce Éireann completes major pipe repairs
'Critical and complex' repairs on a major water pipeline that supplies about a third of the drinking water across the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) have been successfully completed, Uisce Éireann has said. The water pipeline that connects the Ballymore Eustace Water Treatment Plant and the Saggart Reservoir was shutdown on Friday night and drained to allow for the repair work to take place. Teams from the water utility were deployed to work in shifts to complete the repairs without causing shortages, although some people saw a reduced water flow. The extensive repair work was scheduled this weekend as demand for water is typically lower than usual on bank holidays. READ MORE While reservoirs were filled in advance to reduce the chance of significant disruption, Uisce Éireann had asked householders to avoid unnecessary consumption to maximise the time technicians have to repair the pipeline. The utility said on Sunday morning that five significant leaks have been repaired, while 35 metres of damaged pipeline has been replaced. The work was time critical as the pipeline in question can only manage a shutdown of 28 hours before the treated water storage levels become too low, which would have caused significant disruption to supply. The water has now been turned back on and the network continues to replenish towards normal levels. 'We would like to thank everyone for coming together to conserve water,' said Uisce Éireann spokesman Declan Healy. [ How to save water: The average Irish person uses 133 litres a day Opens in new window ] He commended the public in the area for working to reduce usage over the weekend ad said it 'helped safeguard the water supply to yourselves and vulnerable users while supporting the crews working throughout the weekend to successfully deliver these essential works'. While the work has concluded, Uisce Éireann is continuing to urge the public in Dublin , Kildare and Wicklow to conserve water while the network is refilling. It said crews will be on standby for the remainder of the bank holiday weekend to investigate reports of low pressure and intermittent supply.
Irish Times
01-08-2025
- Climate
- Irish Times
Map of areas facing water supply restrictions this weekend
Residents of Dublin , Kildare and Wicklow are being urged by Uisce Éireann to reduce their water consumption this bank holiday weekend to avoid widespread outages. Three areas of Kildare will experience water outages as the national water utility conducts 'complex and critical' repair works to the main pipeline servicing the Greater Dublin Area . The works are due to begin late on Friday. While reservoirs have been filled to ensure minimal disruption to most people in the region, Uisce Éireann is asking householders to avoid unnecessary consumption to maximise the time technicians have to repair the pipeline. Map of areas which could face disruption due to repairs on Ballymore Eustace to Saggart pipeline. Illustration: Uisce Éireann When is the water supply in Kildare, Dublin and Wicklow likely to be affected? READ MORE The works are scheduled to begin at 10pm on Friday, with interruptions expected to occur from then until 3am on Sunday. Will my water just be reduced or will I have nothing for that period? Just under 1,000 people living in Kill, Arthurstown, Rathmore, Athgoe and Tipperkevin in Kildare will experience an outage. Alternative water supplies are being provided in Rathmore National School and Kill Equestrian Centre in Newtown. However, most people in Dublin and Wicklow will not experience an effect to their supply unless water levels become too low too quickly, an Uisce Éireann spokesperson said. Residents may experience low water pressure and discoloured water. How should I prepare for the water interruption? People in the most affected areas of Kildare are asked to use water only for essential needs to help maintain everyone's supply. Households there are advised to ensure they have enough drinking water by filling jugs of water and storing them in the fridge before the affected period. Uisce Éireann is also asking people to turn off all preprogrammed appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines, particularly overnight on Saturday and Sunday as these machines may empty a household's tank. Residents of Dublin and Wicklow are asked to avoid unnecessary water usage such as hosing a lawn, washing a car with a hose, power-hosing, filling up paddling pools or taking a bath instead of a shower. 'Reducing your water use will help maintain or extend water supply during the repairs for yourself and importantly for vulnerable and high-risk users including hospitals and care homes,' Uisce Éireann regional operations manager Stephen Burke said. Will there be backup water supplies? Uisce Éireann has ensured all water reservoirs in the region are filled before works begin on the pipeline. It said most homes and businesses had on-site water storage as a backup water source for sanitation purposes. Why are these works needed now? The national water utility has identified several leaks and sections at risk of failing in the main pipeline connecting Ballymore Eustace Water Treatment Plant and the Saggart Reservoir. They say the works planned for this weekend will safeguard water supplies for the Greater Dublin Area into the future. Uisce Éireann said the works had been planned for the bank holiday weekend because demand for water was typically lower than usual. Why do the works cause supply disruption? These planned repair works will put increased pressure on the supply of drinking water as main water supplies will be temporarily cut off between Saggart Reservoir and Ballymore Eustace Water Treatment Plant. While the water is off, technicians will enter the pipeline to repair five active leaks. Another team will replace 35 metres of worn-out pipeline with a new section of pipe. Uisce Éireann's programme manager, Declan Healy, said the organisation had 'extensively planned and prepared for carrying out these complex works over the last nine months'. The service said the repair crews had a 'very tight deadline to finish the repairs and refill the pipeline with water'. How can I save water? Uisce Éireann said customers across the Greater Dublin Area could help to avoid water outages for themselves and others by reducing water consumption . It suggested shortening showers by a minute, which could save up to seven litres of water, and always ensuring dishwashers and washing machines were fully loaded. In the longer term, it said water can be saved by installing a smaller flush in a toilet cistern, while homes and businesses should be checked for leaks.
Irish Times
07-07-2025
- General
- Irish Times
1,847 teaching posts vacant amid ‘supply crisis' for new school year
More than 1,800 teaching posts were left vacant this year, while many schools in the Greater Dublin Area report that they are struggling to hire qualified staff in the run-up to the new academic year. Principals say the housing crisis and cost-of-living issues mean it is difficult to find teachers in and around the capital, especially in schools located in more deprived areas . A Department of Education review of teacher payroll in March of this year found there were 1,847 vacant posts across schools. Most unfilled teacher positions were at primary level (1,228 posts) compared to second level (619). A similar review conducted in November last year found there were 1,600 vacant posts, indicating that more posts became vacant as the academic year continued. READ MORE Paul Crone, director of the National Association of Principals and Deputies , said many Dublin schools, as well as those in other large urban areas and some remote locations, were having difficulty finding qualified teachers in time for the new school year. He said the situation was especially acute in subjects such as home economics, physics and engineering, while 'post-primary schools nationally are finding it impossible to fill positions to replace teachers on parental leave, paternity leave and even maternity leave'. 'In many of these situations, principals are covering this leave with the teacher extension scheme, supervision and substitution, PME [professional master of education] students or unqualified teachers,' Mr Crone said. A department spokesperson said, overall, the number of unfilled teaching posts continues to be 'low' with vacancies accounting for 2.5 per cent of all 74,611 allocated posts in schools. The payroll analysis was a 'snapshot at a point in time' and schools continually recruit throughout the year, the spokesperson added. In an attempt to boost teacher supply, meanwhile, the department has extended several measures to assist schools in accessing additional teaching and substitute hours. The 'teaching hours extension scheme' allows teachers on full teaching contracts of 22 hours to provide additional substitution cover of up to 35 additional hours for each term. In addition, teachers who are job sharing will continue to be able to work as substitute teachers in any school, as long as they are off duty, while teachers who are on a career break can continue to work as substitute teachers at primary and second level. Minister for Education Helen McEntee said that while they were not long-term solutions, they will continue to support schools to access qualified teaching for the students in their schools. 'Teachers are at the heart of our schools and we are so lucky to have more teachers working in our schools than we ever have had before. However, in some areas there are teacher supply challenges and I am committed to tackling this,' she said. Other measures due to come into force include fast-tracking newly qualified teachers into secure permanent contracts and helping teachers who have trained abroad apply for registration in the State. Teacher unions, however, say a 'supply crisis' is being accentuated by the affordability of the profession for new entrants and unsustainable workloads. The department said the new public service pay deal will mean salaries for new entrants climb to €46,000 and a maximum of €85,000 per year, which it said compares well internationally. Some schools have also reported difficulties hiring principals in advance of the school year, with deputy principals obliged to 'act up' as a temporary measure. While figures for 2025 are not available, last year 160 primary principals (5 per cent of all principals) and 35 second-level principals (7.5 per cent) retired. These numbers have remained relatively steady over recent years.
Irish Times
03-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Housing target should be revised up to 60,000 homes per year, Dublin Chamber says
A national target of 60,000 new homes per year should be set, with half of these delivered in the Greater Dublin Area to align with increased population growth and pent-up demand in the region, Dublin Chamber has urged the Government. The proposal is contained within the business lobby's pre-budget submission. Just 30,330 homes were completed during 2024, while the programme for government pledges to deliver more than 300,000 by the end of 2030. This year's target is 41,000. 'Dublin does not have sufficient housing and infrastructure to meet its current needs, and the future outlook is bleak,' Dublin Chamber said. The group also called on Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe to increase the standard rate income tax band by a minimum of €2,100 for single earners and €4,200 for married couples. READ MORE It said this adjustment would help 'redress the lack of indexation in recent years and ensure that workers are not penalised for modest income growth that simply keeps pace with inflation'. It also called for capital gains tax on disposals of investments in unquoted, actively trading Irish companies to be cut from 33 per cent to 20 per cent. 'This measure would directly incentivise entrepreneurial risk-taking,' it said. 'It would also more effectively appeal to gain-seeking investors than existing measures such as the Employment and Investment Incentive Scheme (EIIS).' The group was also critical of the supports available to small businesses. It said Dublin's start-up ecosystem 'is faltering', and that early-stage funding has 'declined sharply' since peaks in 2021. 'Instead of attracting entrepreneurs and founders, the current system often deters them, weighed down by misaligned and bureaucratic supports,' it said. Furthermore, it called Ireland's non-residential stamp duty rate of 7.5 per cent a 'significant barrier' to commercial development across offices, logistics, and retail. 'In an already high-cost market, this rate adds a substantial upfront cost, undermines project viability, and deters both domestic and international investment,' it said. It recommended a return to the pre-2017 rate of 2 per cent to 'unlock stalled development, ease supply constraints, and support wider economic growth'. The group said businesses are 'increasingly dissatisfied and frustrated' by the lack of delivery of infrastructure by the Government. 'Many do not believe that the investments proposed under the Programme for Government will happen, given past delays,' it said. On water, it said Dublin faces a 'major crisis', and that the provision of water and wastewater in the Greater Dublin Area is 'wholly inadequate and in need of urgent review'. 'The risk of a water shortage due to necessary maintenance and remedial work is high and rising,' it said. 'The lack of water and wastewater is a direct limiting factor on the delivery of affordable accommodation across the Greater Dublin Area. 'Currently, Uisce Éireann has no mandate or increased funding to support the supply of new housing developments. This must change and Government must put in place a multiannual budget for the utility to ensure new housing developments are connected.' At present, the Greater Dublin Area is 'excessively reliant' on a single water source, with 85 per cent coming from the Liffey. The group said the Eastern and Midlands Water Supply Project is 'urgently required' to meet the needs of half of Ireland's population. 'This must be accompanied by the Greater Dublin Drainage Scheme (GDDS), as the need for wastewater facilities has risen in line with the growing population,' it said. 'The need for adequate wastewater facilities and the building of the GDDS cannot be overstated. If this facility is not built, this will have a detrimental effect on the provision of housing.'
Irish Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Dublin's €70bn infrastructural upgrade: how it breaks down
Despite the development of the M50 , Luas , Dart and the Port Tunnel, Dublin has outgrown its infrastructure and needs a €70 billion investment in housing, transport, water and energy (over 15 years) to catch up. That's according to KPMG . While the figure was used to showcase the consultancy's Dublin 2040 report, published on Wednesday, highlighting what Dublin-based businesses see as the city's strengths and challenges, it wasn't actually contained in the report. KPMG's corporate finance partner Hazel Cryan, however, told The Irish Times that its €70 billion estimate accompanying the report was derived from an analysis of various Government strategies in housing, transport and other sectors. READ MORE [ Dublin needs €70bn investment in infrastructure by 2040 Opens in new window ] 'We've applied an extrapolation out to 2040 based on those reports and what the known big projects very much an estimate,' she said. It breaks down as follows: €30 billion is needed to upgrade the city's transport network as per the Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy, which includes mega projects like the proposed MetroLink underground rail project. A further €26 billion is earmarked for housing, mainly on the social and affordable projects and targets contained in current Housing for All strategy and beyond. KPMG also reckons that a further €10 billion is needed to upgrade the city's water infrastructure (which is highlighted as a key block on housing development). An additional €6 billion is also necessary to upgrade the city's energy infrastructure to meet the growing demand for electricity and to support the transition to a low-carbon economy, it says. A further €500 million is also needed to upgrade the city's climate risk and flood defence system. All in, a hefty outlay to get the city fit for purpose. KPMG's Dublin 2040 report is based on a survey 300 Dublin-based businesses and what they see as the key priorities. Unsurprisingly the survey found almost 9 in 10 (87 per cent) believe Dublin is doing poorly in the area of housing, reflecting what the report describes as 'the persistent and ubiquitous nature of the issue'. Housing is flagged as the top concern with 60 per cent of businesses seeing affordable accommodation as a critical infrastructure issue ahead of healthcare (20 per cent), public transport (15 per cent) and technology (5 per cent). 'Dublin is beyond an inflection point in a number of critical areas,' said Ryan McCarthy, managing partner at KPMG in Ireland.
