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

The Minister of State indicated that he expects costs to decrease. Section 12 provides for borrowing by the board and the subsidiary. The estimated cost of installing the meters varies from €350 million to €1.2 billion, to be borrowed from the National Pensions Reserve Fund. The most commonly quoted figure is €500 million. That money will have to be paid back in addition to the €1.2 billion it currently costs to operate the system.

Operational cost is approximately €900 million and capital investment each year will be approximately €300 million. The investment in metering is a further capital investment which will have to be repaid. The Minister of State pointed out that we are wasting 42% of our water and that this water does not even get to the taps. That is correct. It does not get to the taps because the mains system leaks. Surely the first thing that needs to be done is to fix the leaks. One can keep mopping up the floor for as long as one likes, but if the leaking pipe is not fixed one will be mopping up the floor all day and tomorrow as well. The first sign of madness is to keep doing the same thing, but to expect a different outcome. We must do something that will give us a different outcome. The first thing we must do is stop the leaks at district level.

District metering has been shown to be effective and has been proven on the ground. I already provided information on where it works. It saves huge amounts of water and local authorities that have used it wisely have found it very efficient. In the context of section 12, the installation of meters will heap more borrowing onto householders, but will not save water. This is the truth. The Minister of State has outlined the fact that 42% of water does not even reach the taps. That is what must be changed. That is the issue and the elephant in the room here.