Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank everyone for the presentations. The opening statements deal with a wider range of issues than was the intention of the committee. They are all important issues but I want to focus specifically on the interaction between the utilities and developers in new residential construction, both in terms of the demand-led approach that Mr. O'Connell spoke about and then also the future planning aspect. It is not because I do not think the other issues of reform, funding of infrastructure or zoning are not important but we will deal with them elsewhere.

My opening question is general and to all three organisations. When we hear and talk to people in our constituencies and elsewhere, they outline a range of friction points between developers building much-needed homes and utilities that are providing much-needed connections. We know that every situation is different and that there are often very complex reasons those fictions points arise. Trying to understand those better to iron them out of the system is in everyone's interests. Cost is one which Mr. O'Connell has alluded to. A view is expressed that the cost of connections is higher than full-cost recovery or is prohibitively expensive. I invite both Uisce Éireann and ESB Networks to comment on costs and why they are set at the rates they are for the benefit of the committee. The second is process. I get the sense that a very large residential developer probably experiences the process of agreeing the connections much better but for a medium-sized and especially a smaller builder-developer, particularly outside of the large urban centres, it is a much trickier process. I invite both CIF and the utilities to comment on that process. Has it changed in recent times? Do both sides acknowledge there are issues that can be addressed? How can we improve them?

The third area is capacity and forward planning. That is a bigger area than meeting the needs of individual developments and individual occasions. Are we moving to a stage, particularly on the back of Irish Water-Uisce Éireann's capacity plan, to having much greater visibility on what is the capacity and where so that when developers are making investment decisions on buying land and securing planning permission, there is a reasonable expectation that while there is not capacity now there is likely to be in there future? I know that there is a lot more joined-up-thinking with the local authorities in the development plans but within the private landowners who are developing that plan, or indeed the public developers for public housing, can we get a sense from both sides as to where that capacity and forward planning is at?

I am inviting the organisations to be critical of each other not to have row about this but it is to try and identify the friction points because I think that would be useful. There may be things that the committee can usefully recommend to the Minister. Certain recommendations could make everyone's job easier. I am inviting everyone to be polite but critical if that is possible.