Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The legislation is the legal framework for the installation of meters. However, we read in the newspapers about the practical difficulties in regard to the contractors responsible for this work. A number of high profile articles have appeared in the media over the past week or so indicating the significant amounts of money contractors would be required to have in terms of turnover before they can be in a position to qualify as contractors for this work. This is very worrying. One can easily foresee these contracts being sub-contracted out and the sub-contractors being badly burned.

This is happening in advance of the establishment of Irish Water and I am concerned about how the situation is being handled. It could come back and bite us. I accept the point made regarding metering and in principle I am not opposed to metering, but we must find out where the leaky pipes are. Many households are thrifty with water. Therefore, if the Minister allocated a usage allowance, it should be possible for these households not to be faced with a bill if they stay within the allocated allowance. That should be the aim. This should be about changing behaviour. However, it is hard to see how metering will stack up in the context of the amount of money that must be invested. I accept the point made that the savings will produce a dividend, but will that dividend be sufficient to allow households to operate within an environment where they can have a nil bill?