No end in sight to the dry and hot weather, according to Met Éireann Irish Water has warned that it will impose a hose pipe ban and that Ireland is experiencing a drought comparable only to 1976.
Eamon Gallen told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland Irish Water has never had to implement Section 56 before.
If you save here then it benefits everybody else in the system.
Irish Water has never used Section 56 – we’re heading into a situation now where all options have to be considered.” Irish Water has identified 100 water schemes across the country at risk from drought.
The problem is most acute in the greater Dublin area where there is the greatest demand for water.
The station at Dublin Airport recorded just 19.1mms of rain in May, less than a third of the normal amount and to date there has been just 4.8mms of rain in Dublin for the entire month of June.
There is no end in sight for the drought.
There is a possibility of thundery rain in the Munster region on Sunday, but amounts will be small.
The rest of the country will stay dry.
“For anybody looking for rain, there is not going to be large quantities,” Met Éireann forecaster Joan Blackburn said.