Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will conclude my questions to the Commission for Energy Regulation and then focus on Irish Water. I am intrigued by the fact that Irish Water already has 200,000 paying customers and that an official regulator has not yet been appointed. A system is up and running and charges are being levied on businesses throughout Ireland. In the past there were instances of regulators being asleep on the job. I am very concerned that the Commission for Energy Regulation is being brought on board so late in the day that it will be obliged to pay catch-up from the outset. Irish Water is already up and running and the commission is talking about engaging in a consultation process in May and June with a view to putting a charging scheme in place by August, some eight months after Irish Water began charging customers. What is Mr. McGowan's view on this matter? There is no regulator in place for the existing 200,000 customers of Irish Water.