Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Bord Gáis Éireann for the presentation. We received more information but some questions arise. It was said that according to estimates the cost of metering would be €450 million and that slightly more than 1 million households require to be metered. A total of 480,000 houses have septic tanks, many of which have a mains water supply. The water is supplied by the council in cases where group water schemes were taken over. I suspect the figure could be much higher. I would like a response to the question. I have seen various figures bandied about on costs. Reference was made to the expertise of professional staff in local government. They suggested the cost would be €1.2 billion. The Irish Academy of Engineers proposed a figure of €600 million.

The other critical point on meters is the timeframe for their roll-out. Reference was made to working for Yorkshire Water and Scottish water. The witnesses will be aware that in the south of England in particular some domestic dwellings have still not been metered 12 and 15 years on. One could ask how long it will take to roll out the system in this country. The Minister indicated to us that it could take between 12 and 24 months.

What will happen in cases where meters have already been installed? For example, a meter was installed in my house. Will existing meters be removed? In urban areas the meters that are to be fitted could be 8 inches or 10 inches high and they will have to be inserted 16 inches or 18 inches below the ground to avoid frost damage. If one opens an existing stopcock the pipes are only 4 inches to 6 inches below the ground. I have seen a lot of examples of that, in particular in the past two winters. The entire system will have to go underground.

It was indicated in the presentation that it is understood that domestic disconnections will be disallowed. The Taoiseach gave a different answer in the Dáil before the summer break on possible disconnections. The introduction of charges is due to commence in 2014. Was 1 January 2014 indicated as a starting date or was it 1 July 2014?