Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It recommended an independent utility starting from scratch, but the Government did not agree. The project management office cost €628,000. This related to project management costs incurred by Bord Gáis Éireann on behalf of the Department. Some €55,726 was spent on the ESRI's research on affordability issues and the impact of water charges. The water metering programme cost €7 million. This covered the costs incurred by local authorities in terms of road opening protocols, CORE systems, ESRI software systems and mapping. The Department needed €328,000 worth of engineering support with the water services investment programme. The Department also required additional staff last year, amounting to a cost of €321,000. Advertising for water metering subcontractors, including in Public Sector Times, cost €31,000. Mazars did €27,000 worth of work for the recoupment of costs incurred by ICTU under service level agreements. Overall, the Department's spend has been €15.76 million.