Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

-----but I will link my question to the capital side, to keep him happy. Other speakers managed to do that as well. Dr. McGowan said that metering is a regulatory matter but I presume the reason he is suggesting that it be parked is partly because of the deliberations of this committee and the questions we have to answer. He also said he does not have a position or an answer as to how excessive use would be measured. I know that is a topic for a future meeting but we should put both bodies on notice that for this committee to make any decisions on the question of whether metering is an appropriate way to measure excessive use, we would need some information before that particular session from the Commission for Energy Regulation, CER, in terms of its role with regard to regulation and from Irish Water. In this document it supplied to us it suggests that from the metering it has done it has a good deal of information on what should be a generous and appropriate free allowance to householders above which excessive use would be charged, if we so decide. Can the witnesses confirm that they would be able to give us that information? It is suggested in this document that it be given to the CER but that information would be useful for this committee. We will hear from representatives of other bodies such as Scottish Water etc., who presumably will be able to give us that kind of information but it is important. We are talking about capital but in terms of our future decisions and while we have the witnesses here, I do not want to be told at the next meeting that they still do not have any information on that area. I want to put that on the record and ask them to comment on whether they would be able to give us what would be useful data on dealing with a fair and generous household allowance, which everybody agrees with, and how it deals with excess-----