Irish Water’s €2mcompo claim payout

1,050 cases over past two years

IRISH Water paid out around €2million over the past two years to deal with more than 1,050 claims for compensation.

The utility provider said most of the cases related to personal injury cases where people slipped or fell at the site of water works, or property damage due to burst pipes or sewer overflows.

According to new figures, around €800,000 was spent last year in dealing with 529 separate claims for compensation.

That expenditure was down from 2020 when Irish Water paid out €1.2million after receiving 535 separate claims from individuals, homeowners and businesses.

The company said there was a relatively even split in claims based on either personal injury suffered or damage to property.

Last year, there were 244 injury cases received and a further 285 that related to property damage. Irish Water said they would not provide details of individual settlements saying it was commercially sensitive and could result in a financial loss for them.

They said any claims for damages were investigated thoroughly in line with public liability insurance criteria.

And a spokesman for Irish Water said they had procedures in place to ensure all work was carried out and completed to the highest standard.

He added: “The size and scale of Irish Water’s asset base is significant and includes almost 1,800 water and wastewater treatment plants, over 4,000 pumping stations and 90,000km of pipe network.

“If we become aware of any outstanding issues with any Irish Water assets, either through reports from the public or as part of our ongoing proactive asset management, we take immediate measures to rectify defects and address any risks.”