Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is quite obvious, having listened to Mr. Tierney, that there was a big hoo-ha because people did not know this money was being spent, but the Government knew it was being spent. It is very handy to dish all of the dirt on Irish Water as that is how things work in this country. The HSE was set up in order that we could dish the dirt on somebody else when it came to health matters. That is how the country works.
It is quite obvious what Irish Water is trying to do. It is building a massive cash register to collect money in order to repay debts that were not ours in the first place. It is sickening, as the idea that we do not pay for water is becoming the truth because of repetition. As we are talking about setting up a system, I will pay for water a third time. I currently pay for it through taxation and I also pay for it in going to the supermarket. As there is another system being set up, I will have to pay for it a third time. The only system that has worked so far is going to the shop. If it does not work in that scenario, in which there is great quality assurance, I will get an apology and my money back.
How much has been saved by going with Bord Gáis? The original idea was to make savings because the company had much of the required talent, but it now seems that it has none of it. What exactly was saved? When somebody has done a job, it is nice to know how many hours of work were done for the money and the wages involved. Were the consultants getting €1,000 or €1,500 a day, for example? They were probably getting plenty to decide what would be charged for water. Ordinary people will not receive such payments.
Mr. Tierney indicated that he had joined Bord Gáis because its approach would be very professional. Although we have strayed into the area of water quality, apparently the only reason we are here is to ask if we have received good value for money. I read today the Local Government Audit Service report on spending in Dublin City Council in the year ending 2011. It states:

It is evident that the financial management, as part of project management by the environment and engineering department for this project, has been weak. There needed to be evidence of much more comprehensive oversight in monitoring and controlling expenditure. No proper classification of expenditure on an invoice basis was available to account for moneys spent on this project in the initial audit stage (April 2012).

This is a project that was led by Mr. Tierney. The question is whether we trust what is going on. How the hell can one trust what is going on if the head of Irish Water is having such things said about him by the LGAS report? There is something wrong.
We were meant to meet to talk about whether we were getting good value for money but in his address and the documentation that was emailed to us, Mr. Tierney also strayed into the area of water quality. He brought it up and it must be addressed. As far as I can see the only quality that will be looked after is that the billing systems will be of quality but the water will not be of good drinking quality. Mr. Tierney referred to dealing with water quality issues. How will he deal with them? Will they all be end-of-pipe solutions – in other words, will a load of chlorine be fired into the water to make it drinkable or will the pollution be prevented in the first place? If that is the case, what will be the role of Irish Water?
Mr. Tierney raised the issue of water quality. He referred in the report he presented to us to storm water getting into sewerage systems and polluting water courses. I will give an example of what currently goes on and I would like Mr. Tierney to tell me what will happen when Irish Water takes over. Our local authority polluted the local water courses because of a problem with the storm water system which allowed storm water to get into the sewage treatment system. When I reported it to the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, the EPA got the local council to investigate the matter. What will change under Irish Water? The same local authority system will be used to solve the problem. I am paying for water three times. It will cost a fortune to put in the payment system. Mr. Tierney cannot tell us what will be saved by going with Bord Gáis. Mr. Tierney’s record is not good in terms of what was said about him in the report unless what I read in The Irish Timestoday is not true. It would not be the first time that was the case but I urge Mr. Tierney to please prove the newspaper report wrong.