Donegal County Councillor Michael Naughton is calling for a special meeting with Irish Water to raise issues from rural areas of the county.
Homebuilders are facing a new wave of connection charges from the water company which were introduced in April
Donegal MD Cllr Naughton says that people on the ground have “serious issues” with the policy.
He said that a local home builder was recently quoted a €68,000 fee for a 200metre connection.
Cllr Naughton told Donegal Daily: “Irish Water have changed the regulations. A contractor could connect the water before this, but if you go to build a house now it is Irish Water.
“People are being quoted €350 euro per metre as a connection fee. A person going for 200m is charged around €70,000.
“I also have families building new houses up the road and they cannot get connected because it is not in the area.”
Cllr Naughton said the issues are “unacceptable” and called on the county council to request a workshop with Irish Water.
He added that he is planning to call for an allocation of Irish Water’s funding to be given to the Donegal County Council water department for minor works, such as those in Ballintra and Ballydevitt. “Irish Water want the big capital jobs,” he said.
Cllr Naughton criticised the lack of direct communication from Irish Water:
“You will never get a reply from an Irish Water official, you get it from customer service agent and a PR team.
“I will not stand as a councillor for the next five years and go back to my people and say I am waiting for a reply.”
