Water Crisis As Big Freeze Thaws

Thousands of homes in Ireland have spent Christmas with no running water, while millions of others have been restricted to a limited service due to shortages.

The problems were caused by pipes freezing during the Arctic conditions in Ireland in the run-up to the holidays.

When the thaw came, it revealed burst pipes and mains, and major leaks in almost every county.

Council engineers have been struggling to repair the problems.

And businesses have been counting the costs of the water restrictions, which could run into millions of euros.

Hotels, restaurants and bars were affected by restrictions during what was traditionally one of the busiest periods.

The crisis once again highlighted the need for the upgrading of Ireland's water infrastructure - many of the pipes have been in place for almost a century.

The issue of water charges is currently a hot political topic.

Under the government's four year plan, water meters are to be installed in every home and households will soon be charged for the water they use for the first time.

At present, only businesses pay water rates.

In Northern Ireland, the water shortages escalated into a full blown crisis.

Hundreds of thousands of litres of water were being pumped north by councils in border counties.

Forty thousand people were left without running water for more than 10 days as frozen water burst pipes over the Christmas period.

Emergency services and charities were on hand to distribute emergency supplies.

The equivalent of 170 swimming pools of water was being lost every day in leaks.

The Northern Ireland Executive has ordered an independent inquiry into the handling of the water crisis.