Water use restrictions in Cork, Kerry, and Galway

The situation will be reviewed on Friday, the body formerly known as Irish Water said.

Uisce Éireann’s regional operations lead Niall O’Riordan said: “These restrictions are required to give the reservoirs time to replenish and are necessary during this off-peak time, as it is possible that there would be insufficient water supply to homes and businesses during daytime hours without some measures being put in place.” 

He appealed to people in West Cork in general to help conserve water during the summer months.

In Kerry, water mains breaks in recent days have also led to low reservoir levels. 

Night-time restrictions will be in place around Inch and Glenbeigh over the coming days.

In Galway, households in on Inis Oírr have been asked to conserve water so reservoir levels on the island can be maintained.

The warnings come a day after the National Parks and Wildlife Service issued a summer fire safety appeal, urging people not to light fires or barbecues in any national parks or nature spots.

Status Orange alerts were issued last week by the Department of Agriculture that lasted over the weekend as the risk from forest fires was elevated due to conditions.

Last year was a record for the amount of hectares — more than 3,400 — of land damaged by wildfires in Ireland.

Unusual weather patterns combined with climate change in recent years have led to authorities across Europe stepping up ahead of summer extremes.

The continent was devastated last summer by wildfires and drought brought on by extreme heat.

A report from Christian Aid calculated that drought caused by the extreme heat across Europe during the summer was likely to have cost €20bn and 20,000 deaths in excess of normal, with wildfires and agricultural losses particularly acute.