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Clean water

13 – 17

years

old

What does this mean?

How is this right protected in Ireland?

Did you know?

Does every child in Ireland get this right?

What does this mean?

Article 24 of the UNCRC states that children have a right to the highest standard of health – this includes clean drinking water and sanitation.

How is this right protected in Ireland?

There are laws in Ireland to protect children’s rights to clean safe drinking water – they come from European Union Regulations that Ireland have agreed to. It is the government’s responsibility to ensure children have safe water to drink. When there is a problem, they should warn families and then fix the issue.

Did you know?

In 2014 the Irish government planned to bring in domestic water charges (making people pay for their water). Several demonstrations took place where people protested these charges. To date, there are still no water charges for households in Ireland.

Does every child in Ireland get this right?

Ireland, for the most part has safe clean water. Uisce Éireann works on behalf of the government and have responsibility for safe drinking water, sustainability and wastewater treatment in Ireland.

Some children living in homes who get their water from a private well or have older pipes may not always have safe drinking water. Lead in drinking water can be a big health concern and while there is no lead in our water mains, there are still some lead pipes. Uisce Éireann provide advice on how to check for this.

Find out what you can do when you’re not getting your rights.