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

I am referring to the €10 million to which the Minister just referred in respect of the establishment of Irish Water next year. Will he indicate whether that amount will be sufficient?

Will the Minister comment on metering costs? The money in this regard is being taken from the National Pensions Reserve Fund and while it will facilitate the putting in place of meters, it will not stop the leaks in the system. Many people are curious with regard to the overall cost in this regard. Figures ranging from €300 million to €1.2 billion have been referred to at meetings of this committee and in the Dáil in the context of the cost relating to the introduction of metering. The representatives from Bord Gáis were extremely complimentary regarding the expertise that has been built up by local authorities. I am of the same opinion and the Minister is aware of that because he has heard me comment on this matter on many occasions. The representatives of the professional staff of local authorities have claimed that it could cost in excess of €1.2 billion to install meters and to carry out the substantial ancillary works that will be required. Will the Minister comment on this matter?

What will be the level of subsidy from the Exchequer to Irish Water? Will this be a continuation of the €10 million to which I referred earlier or will it be ten times that amount? Will the Minister provide a rough estimate of the actual figure in this regard? I accept that he is in the process of putting all of this together and we will not argue about €1 million or €2 million one way or the other. However, there are huge variations in the figures emanating from different sources and these do not stand up to scrutiny.

Has the Department considered the situation which is emerging across local authorities in respect of outdoor staff? It might not be too apparent from the Custom House but, as regards the position on the ground, the time is approaching when city and county councils throughout the country will not have sufficient outdoor staff to allow them to deal with emergencies. These staff already carry out certain functions at a very low cost. The concern in this regard is that private contractors are going to have to be brought in at a higher cost. Have the Minister and his officials examined the position in this regard, particularly in the context of the large number of retirements that are occurring? The age profile of many outdoor staff is at the upper end of the scale and many of them are over 50 years of age. Has the Department considered this matter and, if so, what plans does are in place to deal with it?