Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will be as brief as I can. I would like to focus on one of the expert commission's four recommendations in the area of public engagement and transparency. It recommended that "an EPA administered research budget on water management and conservation is necessary and should be put in place". My question relates to the CER's engagement with the forum, which may have happened on instruction or may have been undertaken participatively. Has the CER undertaken international research on the effectiveness of public awareness campaigns in curtailing water consumption? I am asking about research that may have been done not just since the expert commission produced its report but since the inception of the CER and the start of its engagement with this forum.

Will the CER play a part in reviewing whether there should be an open data role for Irish Water?

We were led to believe that 300,000 homes were never going to be metered because of technical issues associated with their locations, for example in apartment blocks. It is not possible to access some homes in this way by virtue of the period in which they were built. Has the CER discussed a review mechanism with the forum to allow for water conservation in those homes? If that could be done effectively, perhaps it could be continued into the future. I remind the witnesses that the expert commission recommended that there should be "district metering" rather than individual metering. Maybe this is something that could be brought to bear in the forum.

Has the CER explored means of water conservation other than the charging mechanism that dominated the debate and was almost rammed down the throats of consumers as the only form of conservation? What other form of water conservation has the CER engaged with in recent times? I remind Mr. McGowan that this committee is responsible for making recommendations for a solution and bringing them to the Dáil for agreement. Has the CER looked at the harvesting of rainwater as a possible conservation method as it engages with the public about bringing water conservation to the forefront and leaving water charges in the background?