Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

The Deputy has posed many questions, some of which I may not be able to answer today. I will be happy to follow them up with him later.

This is the largest infrastructure project since the establishment of the ESB during the foundation of the State. Irish Water will be established as an entity by the middle of this year and will deal with the contracts for the installation of water meters. It will be working with local authorities which will be agents for Irish Water over several years.

Water meters do work. There is clear evidence from local authorities on how water meters in commercial premises and domestic households have lead to significant reductions in consumption. The lowest amount in reduction in domestic consumption was 10% while group water schemes have reported reductions of up to 30% in their consumption. It is a significant reduction. The contracts will be prepared on the basis of splitting the country into 150 to 200 areas. The intention is to offer SMEs and smaller local businesses opportunities to get stuck in. As more than 2,000 jobs will be created, it will have an important impact on the community, as well as on the environment in terms of water conservation.

See this speech in context