Dublin and nearby counties placed under six‑week hosepipe ban

Uisce Éireann has issued a water‑conservation order that bans non‑essential outdoor water use for six weeks, from 16 July to 26 August, across Dublin, South Tipperary and parts of Kildare, Meath, Wexford and Wicklow. The order, commonly called a “hosepipe ban”, aims to safeguard public water supplies after a period of unusually warm, dry weather drove domestic demand about 20 % above normal, with daily use in the Greater Dublin Area reaching 693 million litres – roughly 50 million litres above the year‑to‑date average.

The ban prohibits using garden hoses, power washers, car‑washing with a hose, filling paddling pools or ornamental ponds, and other non‑essential outdoor water uses. Violations can attract fines up to €5,000, and Uisce Éireann has set up a hotline for the public to report breaches. The utility also urges households, businesses and farms to adopt water‑saving measures such as fixing leaks, taking shorter showers, reusing grey water, and using watering cans instead of hoses.

Infrastructure experts have highlighted longer‑term solutions, suggesting desalination plants or a Shannon‑Dublin pipeline to increase supply resilience amid more frequent droughts caused by climate change.