Mr. John Tierney:

It is a gross figure. We do not net-off on the issue of expenditure. There is an ongoing need for expenditure over a period of time, but there is already a huge stack-up in the system of money that needs to be spent on environmental compliance, capacity, drinking water quality and all of the different issues that need to be tackled.

The Senator's second last point concerned establishment costs. None of this money is taken from existing operational funding or the existing capital investment programme. None of it comes out of these two allocations of funds. These funds are separate and have not been reduced by virtue of the establishment taking place.

In regard to payment for water where there are difficulties with water quality, I have mentioned that we estimate there are approximately 20,000 people on boil water notices. We want to ensure this issue is dealt with as quickly as possible, but this will take time because schemes must be put in place to rectify the issues involved. However, we have prioritised the issue and put arrangements in place to try to deal with it as a key issue.