Mr. Feargal Ó Coigligh:

We will certainly be putting the case to the Commission that we have a really clear trajectory, but we have to deliver on it to make sure we have credibility. There are areas with regard to the environment in Ireland in which we have lacked credibility because of a failure to deliver so we really have to deliver on this to ensure that we avoid fines. We will be engaging and we do have a very good story to tell when we engage with the Commission. As we know from other worlds, the Commission negotiates quite hard. It will not give us an easy passage. We will all be put to the pin of our collars to deliver. There are other issues in respect of water and there are fresh infringement actions in that regard. As Dr. Ryan said in respect of the EPA, the need to invest is a continual process. With regard to the Commission, complying with directives is also a continuing process. The Commission looks at each member state. If it feels that the state is not in compliance it takes it to court. We will keep revisiting the issue to ensure that we are in compliance. We are not the only member state in that position.

With regard to the legislation on abstraction, we are hopeful that we will publish it this year. We have said it will be published by summer. We have a general scheme, which was agreed by Government in July. There was public consultation on that. We have had comments back. There are complexities in the area. Water rights are an issue. It is taking us a little bit of time to work through that, but we will be giving it some priority in order to try to deliver the legislation. It should be noted that the Minister asked the Commission for Regulation of Utilities to review the Shannon project. That is expected to take most of this year. Planning, the review and the legislation need to run in parallel rather than sequentially to minimise delays.

The Deputy mentioned the transformation process. Obviously we will be entering the WRC process in the coming weeks. Local authorities have issues in respect of legacy costs. We had a meeting with the County and City Management Association, CCMA, on that yesterday. The unions want to talk to the Department about the status of Irish Water, the issue of being commercial or non-commercial, and the referendum. On the issue of being commercial or non-commercial, as Mr. O'Leary pointed out there are advantages to the commercial nature of the company. Sometimes people think it has to be one or the other, that it is a zero-sum game, and that something is either a non-commercial body or a commercial body. This is a public utility. It will be 80% funded by the taxpayer. As Mr. O'Leary said, it uses an insourced model. It is not like the profit-making commercial bodies one would see in other areas of the semi-State sector. It is Government policy that it act in a commercial fashion and drive efficiency. It is regulated by the regulator. It has commercial features, which are considered very important, as well as features of a public utility, which are equally important. I do not believe it is a zero-sum game but I appreciate that the unions have their own position on that. The Deputy also mentioned a referendum. To reiterate the position, the Minister brought proposals to Government. They are being considered by the Attorney General.

We are in constant contact with the Office of the Attorney General. However, we do not have a final timeframe for delivery of final wording.