No solution to ‘major safety issue’ in Waterford that could cost €30m to fix
The issue was raised by Cllr Donal Barry at the May plenary meeting of Waterford City and County Council
There is currently no solution to a “major safety issue” in Waterford that could cost €30m to fix, a council meeting has heard.
The issue was raised by independent councillor Donal Barry at the May plenary meeting of Waterford City and County Council.
Cllr Barry said: “Look, I think we touched on one of the most important issues that’s going to affect the city and county and that’s the concentric cabling issue and the finance needed for that.
“I just wanted to clarify if there have been any grants applied for to try and get that cabling fixed.
“That’s a major safety issue throughout the city and county, especially for elderly people walking footpaths in the nighttime.”
In response, Bernard Pollard, Head of Finance at Waterford City and County Council, said that there is currently no clear solution to the issue.
Mr Pollard said: “In relation to concentric cabling, to be honest with you, there has not been agreement as to how this is going to be funded.
“And I think Gabriel [Hynes] is right in saying that we estimated it could be as much as €30 million.
“It’s a big issue in the country and I think what we are very conscious of is not trying to fix the problems we can’t fix.
“This is something that we need to go to the central Government for. So, no councillors, I don't have a solution at this time.”
Deregulation within the electrical industry in 2009 resulted in local authorities taking over ownership from ESB Networks of underground cabling infrastructure servicing public lighting columns.
This included concentric cables which were installed in the 1950’s and which represent around 15 per cent of Waterford City and County Council’s public lighting cabling inventory.
Concentric cabling doesn’t comply with current electrical standards and where cable faults occur, the cabling must be replaced in full.
As this cabling is at the end of its service life, it is often prone to faults.