Mr. Jerry Grant:

It is important to outline the context for the Dublin water scheme. Over the coming five or six years we will have to meet ongoing needs for water in Dublin. We are aware of how tight capacity is at present and we are seeking to maximise the output of the Liffey plants at Leixlip and Ballymore Eustace. This means finishing out our current investment in Leixlip and making further investments in Ballymore Eustace and in pipelines to transport the water to where we need it. That will generate additional water, which will help us. It is even more critical that we get to grips with leakage to a greater degree. This will require a regional approach to develop leakage management capacity, leakage zone priorities, intensive find-and-fix repairs, automation of pressure management and replacement of mains. Based on information gathered through the metering project, we hope to target customer-side losses. The evidence of metering thus far indicates that 5% to 6% of households use considerably more water than normal usage patterns would suggest. All of these measures will help us to stay ahead of demand and we have a fair idea of the demand load we will be facing over the next five or six years.

During that period we will be working on the major source of water for Dublin. This involves a statutory process which is currently ongoing. We have a team working on the process. It involves an environmental impact assessment stage which must evaluate all options objectively on the basis of environmental, technical and economic criteria. The final outcome of that assessment will be delivered later this year as a preferred scheme, which will be developed further with a view to going to An Bord Pleanála before the end of 2015. We have assumed that the oral hearings and decision making with An Bord Pleanála will last through 2016 and, assuming we can anticipate a successful outcome, we will be in the design and procurement phase in 2017 and early 2018, with a view to delivering water to Dublin towards the end of 2020.