Mr. Niall Gleeson:

First, we want as many local authority workers as possible to come over and work directly for Uisce Éireann. This has been clear from day one. We are a direct-hire business. We do use contractors for specific tasks. Where there is additional work, certainly on the construction site, we do use contractors. Where there is additional work on the operational side, we also bring in contractors. This idea that we are hiring a lot of private contractors to do work, therefore, is simply incorrect unless we have gaps we cannot fill because our recruitment process is taking a bit longer than we would like. Eventually, however, our aim is to have the vast majority of staff on direct contracts. Ms Attridge might wish to comment on some of the specific issues in this regard.