Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Dr. McGowan and wish him well in his appointment which the Minister has made. This is not an interview process but I thank him for the courtesy of attending the committee and sharing some of his ideas as new chairperson of the Water Advisory Body.

The main issues for Irish Water, and the main challenges Dr. McGowan will have, relate to accountability, transparency and its performance. These problems have fed into many of the controversies relating to Irish Water. It was always going to be difficult when transferring a utility service from 31 local authorities in a disjointed way. There were HR, personnel and resources issues, as well as issues of responsibility and who would lead out from that. There are still difficulties and it is working its way through.

There are boil water notices and substantial leaks in the service. The citizen is rightly demanding a high-quality and consistent water supply. Infrastructure has to be both national and local. We cannot forget the small community. The challenge is how one is going to be responsive to the needs of the customers from big industry and enterprise, as well as small communities.

I wish Dr. McGowan well but he needs to go back to the same issue, namely what citizens are demanding of Irish Water and any service provider for that matter, which is accountability, transparency and performance. Those issues need to be kept to the fore in the delivery of public services and this is no exception. I wish Dr. McGowan the best of luck with his job and, hopefully, he will engage regularly with the committee. We certainly will seek to engage with him regularly.