Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is no public scrutiny. The Minister of State can talk about coming before committees, but the information being provided is selective. At the moment, Irish Water is not subject to freedom of information. The Minister of State may contend that it will be subject to freedom of information, but that is currently not the case. It is currently not subject to parliamentary questions, either written or oral, and is not subject to questioning at Leaders' Questions in the Dáil. That is a disgrace, a shame and after spending €200 million of taxpayers' money, we still do not know what has been achieved, but we know it has gone to cosy consultants who are employed and who are given massive amounts of taxpayers' money.

This is not a new structure. Bord Gáis was chosen, according to the Government, because it already has the expertise and structures in place, but why then has it cost us almost €200 million to establish?