Professor John McHale:

I will let Dr. Conefrey answer the point about the CSO. We certainly do talk about Irish Water as one of the fiscal risks we face. The Deputy has mentioned that EUROSTAT's design essentially must stay on the general Government accounts, but the Government seems to have concluded that EUROSTAT will allow Irish Water to be off the general Government accounts, but there is a real risk in that regard. As the Deputy knows, there were two tests that needed to be passed. The share of revenue coming from non-Government sources as a fraction of the total output of Irish Water must be greater than 50%. We have been examining how that output will be measured. The Government is using a Revenue measure of output.

Another possibility is that the denominator in the calculation will be operating costs. It then becomes much closer whether the 50% test will be passed. There is uncertainty about how EUROSTAT will rule on this issue, but we will not know until next April or perhaps even for a number of years. It may take it a number of years to see, for instance, how the revenues being billed actually match the revenues coming in. In its calculations it is billed revenue that is being used; therefore, the assumption is that the revenue will be raised. Initially, EUROSTAT may accept this, but it may then look at the pattern in terms of the discrepancy between billed revenues and actual revenues. There is uncertainty that is a source of risk and could potentially have a big impact.