There is also confusion in Galway city council as to why the former director of water services, engineer Tom Hernan, was replaced in January by Ciaran Hayes, who previously held a position in housing and planning in the council, but has no background in water services.

"If they were working on this [water quality] like they say they were, why would they move an engineer out of that position?" said a council worker.

In any case, the issue has become a political football, with environment minister Dick Roche indicating that the blame rests with the council, the mayor of Galway, Niall O Brolchain, insisting he has been campaigning on the issue to little avail, and the council members blaming each other.

Tension increased on Friday morning when non-Fianna Fail councillors . . . one of whom, independent councillor Catherine Connolly, had herself contracted cryptosporidiosis, losing one stone in four days . . .

were excluded from an emergency meeting with Roche.

Later that day, Roche outlined a 48m water plan for the Galway region. Some 21m of this had already been allocated in 2002 to upgrade the 50-yearold Terryland water works, which currently supplies 30% of the city's water. The minister said the government had received no proposals from Galway city council to use this fund at the time it was made available to them.

However, with the minister pledging extra staff, O Brolchain said that the cap on staff numbers in the council had hindered any progress that could be made on the issue.

The Galway mayor also blamed excess development without proper planning for pollution.