Minister for the Environment Dick Roche says he intends to "knock heads together" at a meeting in Galway today over the city's contaminated water supply.
The Minister cancelled all engagements for today to travel west after calls for Government action by Galway Chamber of Commerce and the city mayor, Niall Ó Brolcháin (Green Party).
The number of confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis, the gastrointestinal illness traced to an infected water supply in the city and part of the county, now stands at 136, with up to 10 people hospitalised. However, Health Service Executive (HSE) West director of public health, Dr Diarmuid O'Donovan, believes the actual cases may now be running in hundreds.
The parasite is also now being spread person-to-person, with traces in the water supply derived from both human sewage and animal faeces. The HSE West has renewed its "boil water" notice and has emphasised the need for personal hygiene to try and limit the outbreak.
However, a political row has also erupted over responsibility for the problem, with the Minister accusing the mayor of "not being fit" to hold office if he was not aware that some €21.5 million had been allocated to upgrade the city waterworks.
Fianna Fáil election candidate Cllr Michael Crowe and Fianna Fáil Senator Margaret Cox have also criticised the mayor, accusing him of inaction.
Mr Roche says that the money for upgrading the water treatment works at Terryland was allocated in 2002 but not drawn down. Galway City Council says it has been working with the Department of Environment on proposals, which have been "advanced as far as possible".
Eleven of the 15 city councillors sought an emergency meeting with officials on Wednesday night to clarify the issue, but this was turned down on procedural grounds.
The council intends to present a full report to the next scheduled meeting on April 2nd. Afterwards, the 11 councillors issued an agreed statement, criticising the failure of officials to meet them, and a five-point action plan was sent by the mayor to the Minister for the Environment.
The plan proposes provision of "free clean drinking water for the areas affected by the outbreak of cryptosporidiosis", and intensification of efforts to locate the sources of the parasite affecting the drinking water supply and close them off immediately.
The mayor also proposes that medium-term water treatment measures to remove the parasite be put in place, and has asked the Minister to assist the local authorities in installing modern and effective treatment plants.
He has also asked Mr Roche to fast-track implementation of the EU's water framework directive, delayed to 2015, by setting up a management structure for it.
The Minister said that he was "very frustrated and annoyed" at the delays in the city council upgrading its water treatment work. "I plan to travel to Galway tomorrow to knock a few heads together, to talk to the county council, to the city council, to the elected representatives to see what in the name of God they are going to do," he said.
Labour Party president and Galway TD Michael D Higgins questioned whether the severe understaffing of the city council is contributing to unnecessary delays. "Is the system of application [for the upgrade funds] too slow and bureaucratic?" Mr Higgins asked. Steps must be taken to address the distress of vulnerable people, he said.