Ms Geraldine Tallon:

We probably could be better at going back after the event in a financial sense. We do go back after the event in an operational sense. When I look at the operational figures for the DBO contracts and I see that in some cases the operational cost has decreased whereas in others it has increased, I am obliged to wonder why the latter is the case. In some instances this results from an increase in the load or capacity into the plant and the fact that the contract allows for a charge per unit of capacity. Local authorities are very good at monitoring that sort of operational aspect. An authority must manage the collection network and the effluent discharge licences issued to particular commercial or industrial operators in an area. These projects are very much a partnership between local authorities and plant operators. Generally, the DBO applies to the treatment plant but it does not apply to the collection network. That network has many implications for the treatment plant because the quality and loan of the effluent going in conditions both how the plant will perform and the cost of that performance.

There are operational issues about which local authorities would be extremely concerned, particularly as they are responsible for paying contractors. We have not, on behalf of the State, gone back after the event - in the manner suggested by the Deputy - and investigated whether the 23% efficiency has been achieved. I accept that it may not yet have been achieved in the case of Castlebar. This is something we should factor in to the audit process for these types of expenditure.