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The Avondhu received written confirmation this week from the contractors Glan Agua Ltd, through Independent TD Mattie McGrath, that no contract has been signed for the Burncourt/Fethard water scheme.

Despite widespread claims that the contract for the Burncourt/Fethard water scheme has been signed, The Avondhu received written confirmation this week from the contractors Glan Agua Ltd through Independent TD Mattie McGrath, that no contract has been signed.

According to a manager within Glan Agua Ltd, 'the contract signing has not progressed'. As far as Glan Agua Ltd understand, the contract is 'still progressing through Irish Water Internal Govnernance Approvals Procedures' and the spokesperson went on to say that the contract duration is about 22 months, 'but the finishing date will be dependent on the contract start date, which is currently out of our hands'.

Speaking to The Avondhu on Wednesday, Deputy Mattie McGrath pointed out that it takes two parties to sign a contract and he added that if it had been signed, something to mark the occasion would have been announced.

In his opinion, the announcement which came in election week was a ploy to try to con voters into thinking that the contract was signed and that their water would be fixed. He said the Minister had engaged in 'a willful and despicable act of public deception in relation to the Burncourt/Fethard Regional Supply Scheme'.

“Tom Hayes came on to Tipp Fm with me on the 21st of this month and openly declared that the contract had been signed and work was about to begin. That was a blatant falsehood as we now know. No contract has been signed and there is no sign anytime soon that it will be.

This week however,  Fine Gael councillor Marie Murphy, gave the assurance that the contract has been signed and the work will happen, telling The Avondhu that there have been a lot of false promises and delays, but this is now 'the real thing'.

"This has been going on for fifty years and when the country was awash with money, it was still never done. A process had to be followed and that process finished on Tuesday (of last week)," she said.

She added that because the contract was over €10 million, it had to be signed off by the board of An Bord Gais and because it is a design, build project, it still won't be operational for two years, but at least the end is in sight.

The scheme covers a vast area including Skeheenarinky, Burncourt, Ballyporeen and areas of Clogheen and into the west side of Cahir.

"There is light at the end of the tunnel, particularly for the people in the 43 houses in Skeheenarinky that have been on a boil water notice since 2009. I kept this topic on top of the agenda for South Tipperary County Council and I'm delighted that the issue is finally going to be resolved," Cllr Murphy told The Avondhu.

Tipperary Minister Tom Hayes also told The Avondhu that work on the project will now proceed within the next 12 weeks, once final design matters have been completed.

"It has been a long time coming, particularly for the people of Burncourt and Skeheenarinky who have been continuously let down by previous Governments who failed to act to make their water safe.

"The signing of these contracts this week was the final red tape that was delaying the project and now that it has been completed, work can get underway," Minister Hayes said.

He also moved to dispel speculation about funding, saying that funding has been ring fenced for these works for quite a while and remains in place. "There was never any question regarding funding for the scheme," he said.

The following is a copy of the letter (by email) from Glan Aqua Ltd to Deputy McGrath and is dated May 27th:

Dear Deputy McGrath,
Thank you for your email in relation to the Burncourt / Fethard Water Supply Scheme.
The Contract signing has not progressed. As far as Glan Agua Ltd understand, the contract is still progressing through Irish Water Internal Governance Approvals Procedures.
The contract duration is approximately 22 months but the finishing date will be dependent on the Contract Start date which is currently out of our hands.
If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Kind Regards,
Aine Healy
QEHS Manager, Glan Agua Ltd, Enterprise and Technology Centre, Creagh Rd, Ballinasloe, Co Galway.

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