Cork water projects face delays

The spotlight is once again on Irish Water today. It comes after a top engineer in Cork warned that some of the planned projects for the county may not be completed by 2016. Schemes which fail to make company's A and B schemes which are due to be carried out on time include, sewerage treatment schemes in Rosscarbery/Owenahincha and  Shannonvale, and water improvement schemes in towns such as Castletownbere Dunmanway and Skibbereen. €174m is expected to be spent in the Cork region by the water utility company by the end of 2016. Meanwhile it's been reported that the term of the fixed rate on water charges could be extended. According to the Irish Times, the government's looking at the possibility to allow for more meters to be installed, and to allow people get used to controlling their usage. Meanwhile, the Environment Minister Alan Kelly says he doesn't believe second call out charges by Irish Water should exceed 188 Euro. The utility has pledged to fix the first leak for free - but details have yet to be announced about how it plans to deal with subsequent leaks. AUDIO: In the Dail last night,  Minister Alan Kelly said that the reported cost of more than €188 is too high. Click the PLAY button above to hear.

More from Cork