Mr. Feargal Ó Coigligh:

The managing director of Irish Water was here last week and made it clear that it very much favours an insourced model. The experience to date is to bring in aspects that have previously been outsourced so there are no fears in that regard. This is not something that is subject to this legislation.

Regarding workers' rights, there are protections in the legislation. We want to make sure workers are happy to transfer to Irish Water. There is no denying the contribution local authorities and local authority staff have made and continue to make. As we have seen, they were front-line workers throughout Covid. Nobody is questioning the commitment of local authority staff. We saw last week that there are issues about control and accountability, which are not fit for purpose, so the company must evolve. We want to make sure the workforce is happy to transition across. That is the ultimate aim.