Almost €600,000 – or more than €100,000 every month for five months – was spent by Uisce Éireann to tanker water to Inis Oírr last summer, the Connacht Tribune can reveal.

The smallest Aran Island’s severely low water reservoir’s again this year resulted in water restrictions being imposed on businesses and residents from 11pm to 7am daily during its busiest months for visitors.

Galway County Council and Uisce Éireann previously confirmed to this newspaper that they were shipping almost a quarter of a million litres of water to Inis Oírr every day to bolster supplies.

And now, documents released to the Connacht Tribune under Freedom of Information (FOI) reveal the total cost of tankering water from the mainland in Ros a’ Mhíl to Inis Oírr was €592,548 from May 1 to October 1, 2024.

It’s understood similar outlays were paid in previous years during what has become an annual problem for the island.

Uisce Éireann said the money was paid this year to Rossaveal Port Services to tanker water to Inis Oírr to supplement the public water supply during those five months.

Its FOI officer said the contract “was awarded following a public tendering process carried out in line with public procurement criteria”.

“Uisce Eireann continues to monitor water supplies on the island and take appropriate measures to manage these supplies year-round,” a spokesperson for the water utility said.

Caption: Inis Oirr…water issues.

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