Irish village without water during hottest week of year

Residents of a village in the Republic of Ireland were left without water for several days during the hottest week of the year.

The outage in Ballivor, County Meath, came as the island of Ireland recorded its hottest May day on record earlier this week.

Independent councillor Noel French said water has since been restored after being tankered in from nearby towns and added that residents deserve a decent water supply.

Irish water provider Uisce Éireann said that upgrade works are planned, which will include a water storage upgrade at Ballivor in June.

In a statement Uisce Éireann said it actively follows up on all “no water calls”, according to Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

Aontú councillor Dave Boyne said parts of Ballivor had been without water since Sunday and that the local school was forced to close as a result.

He told BBC News NI that water outages have been a long running issue in the area.

“The water has been off since Sunday, it might be back on in parts today, but it’s just been mayhem for people,” he said.

“People can’t flush the toilet, take a shower, it’s like living in a third world country.”

Boyne added that party colleagues had been going door to door to deliver bottled water to those who may have difficulties leaving their house.