Irish water does not meet EU standards, court rules

The highest European court has ruled that the level of specific compounds in Irish drinking water exceeds EU safety levels.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the Republic of Ireland failed to meet its obligations under the EU's main law on drinking water, Irish national broadcaster RTÉ reports.

It said the chemical compounds trihalomethanes, known as THMs, found in drinking water, are at an unsafe level.

THMs are found in water treatment systems that use chlorine to remove bacteria and contaminants and are harmful to humans and the environment, the court said.

The Republic was taken to court by the European Commission (EC).

It said that the Republic had failed to adopt the necessary measures to be in compliance with the directive, relating to the concentration of THMs.

It said the Republic had failed to restore the quality of drinking water "as quickly as possible".

'Ireland couldn't justify failure'

The ECJ said that in January 2014 Irish Water was tasked with ensuring the quality of drinking water met EU standards established by Directive 98/83 on the quality of water intended for human consumption.

In 2015, the Irish authorities provided the EC with information on the levels of THM concentrations in drinking water but the EC said that it did not comply with the directive.

Subsequent orders were made in 2020 and, according to a court statement, the commission was not satisfied with those responses between September 2020 and June 2021 so it began an infringement proceeding.

• Unsafe water failures 'put 900,000 people at risk'

On Thursday, the ECJ stated that although the Republic was free to define how it implemented the directive within its own legal system, it still had an obligation to respect all its provisions, including those related to THM concentrations.

The country could not "fully justify" the existence of a persistent failure to fulfil its obligations, the ECJ said.

High levels of THMs in drinking water had been observed over a considerable period of time, the court heard.

The Republic failed to contest facts alleged by the commission and the court held that the EC, based on the information provided, had provided "sufficient evidence to support Ireland’s alleged breach".

The ECJ therefore ruled that the Republic had failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 4 of the safe drinking water directive.