Roche asks Hogan to visit Bridgetown and drink its tap water

A Bridgetown man running for local council has sent a letter to Minister Phil Hogan asking him to pay a visit to South Wexford and drink a glass of water from the fardystown water scheme.  Mick Roche said that he had preserved a glass of water taken from a house in Hazelwood estate and wanted to see Minister Hogan drink it before the he even considered asking the people of South Wexford to pay a water tax.

 

Liath Ní Riada and Mick Roche in the home of Tracy McCabe last week

“I’ve sent Minister Hogan an invitation to come to Bridgetown and drink a glass of water which came out of the tap at a house in Hazelwood last week,” Mr Roche said, “The water is coloured and it’s impossible to smell it without feeling nauseous.  There are children living in the house where this water came out of the tap.  Their parents had the local council test the water last year and it was deemed fit to drink.  I want to see just how fit the Minister will be after he drinks it.”

“Minister Hogan famously said that you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs when asked to explain the squandering of €85 million by Irish Water on consultant’s fees.  If the Minister expects us to stand idly by while he puts a tax on us for water that is not fit for rats yet alone humans, then he will have to adhere to his own mantra and break a few eggs.  Come down to Bridgetown and have a glass of this putrid water and then we’ll have a talk about water charges, if you are still standing Minister.”

 

Copy of letter sent by Mr Roche to Minister Hogan

Mr Roche insisted this was not a publicity stunt and said that families getting their water from the Fardystown scheme faced dirty water at regular intervals over the course of a year.  “It can be clear for weeks and then it will get coloured again,” he said, “But the smell rarely goes now.  At least that’s how it seems.  I wouldn’t dream of giving it to my dog, and certainly not to my kids.  If Minister Hogan is truly worried about building a sustainable water conservation programme, which is what his tax is supposed to be about, he will visit us in Bridgetown and take the Fardystown water test.”