Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As Mr. Aidan O'Connor has referred to it in his statements, I wish to make clear that this committee has a very clear function in terms of looking at issues of concern around the public services and bringing before us the relevant parties to address the concerns raised. In this case, the relevant parties are obviously Irish Water and the Department. We do not second-guess the decisions of courts or an Ombudsman. I wish to make it clear that any deliberations taking place today and any decisions that our committee makes are not in any way to be compared with those of a legal case. We are not deliberating on tendering processes or anything concerning them. We are deliberating on whether Irish Water complied with the required standards. We have listened to the evidence presented today. I do not want any of this hearing today to be seen in any way to be in conflict with a court of law, which is independent and has an independent jurisdiction. We certainly would not act in a way that would fall foul of the sub judice rule in any way, shape or form. I wish to clarify that point. For any party that is interested in these matters, any court cases are entirely separate from our deliberations today and we would not be seeking to influence or to undermine in any way, shape or form a court of law or separate process. We will be looking at the specific petition. It is a stand-alone petition which we have accepted as a legitimate issue. We have listened to the evidence given and now I will open up the floor to the members to ask questions.