Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The key issue is how much people will pay for water services. That relates to both Uisce Éireann and the CER. There is a cost in keeping costs down and in upgrading the distribution and quality of water services.

As I understand it, Uisce Éireann will send a proposal to the Commission for Energy Regulation. This is very different from the way Bord Gáis Energy and the ESB engaged with the CER, because these were pre-existing services. Uisce Éireann is constructing a network to take over a service that was delivered by individual local authorities. How will the CER be able to satisfy itself on the costs that Uisce Éireann incurs, such as the cost of capital? We know, for example, that all customers will be given a free allowance, so how will charging be structured? Who will determine what is sufficient capital for Uisce Éireann? Some parts of the country have higher population density and have more developed water and wastewater infrastructure, so the existing water services are not developed equally across the country and can be worlds apart. In the case of the ESB, the service in the west is the same as it is in the east. Will the witnesses address the issues arising from the unequal water services throughout the country?

I want to go back to the question of Irish Water's transition office, an issue which was not really touched on in the opening statement. It seems from replies to parliamentary questions that the number of people working in that office is quite small. More than €5.7 million - a total of €7.3 million - has been allocated for the office and I would like to be satisfied in that regard. Perhaps Mr. Tierney might come back to us on that point. I do not understand where the money is being spent and how the costs are being kept down.

Will Irish Water make a proposal to the Commission for Energy Regulation on the extent of the free allowances, or will this be done exclusively at Government level? There are issues in respect of income also. Local authorities have collected a sizeable amount of money in development contributions - I think the figure is close to €1 billion - but they are not permitted to spend it. Some of this fund relates to water and wastewater, some to roads and some to other services. Where is the fund counted? Will all of the moneys that have been designated for water and wastewater services be transferred to Irish Water, or will some continue to be controlled by local authorities?

There are other issues in relation to who is going to be included. This applies to both groups. A sizeable number of housing estates have not been taken in charge. The responsibility of Irish Water extends to estates that have been taken in charge. Other estates will continue to be controlled by developers. How will this work where a developer is not in place? Some people are complaining about being asked to pay property taxes and water charges, even though they are receiving a substandard service by virtue of being in limbo. The officials might address this issue. I am not sure how the system will operate.

Electricity and gas are provided as a door-to-door service, whereas water is provided up to the public footpath. The householder is responsible for maintaining the service beyond the footpath, even to the point of having to dig up his or her garden. I have come across several people who were told there were major leaks in their gardens and had to go digging. Is the first fix policy proposed sufficient from the point of view of the Commission for Energy Regulation? Is it likely that people living in areas with older pipes will have constant problems with leaks? There is often an older population who might not be able to deal with these problems in such areas. There could be a significant problem in this regard as complaints are made. How would these complaints be dealt with? Will there be an appeals mechanism for those who fall into this category?

I would like to return to a point made the last day about the cost of the infrastructure being developed. Has all of the €44 million being spent on information technology systems been spent at this stage? Will the delegates describe on what exactly it is being spent? Is it being spent on hardware, software or licences? I am still trying to get my head around how such an amount of money could be spent in such a short period.