Mr. Seán Laffey:

Our network is approximately 65,000 km of water mains and we have a very long network for the population that is served. Leakage is a complex thing. When we look at the water we produce and the water we see consumed, everyone calls the gap in between leakage but in the business we call it unaccounted for water. Some of that water is leakage, 100%, but some of that water is actually connections that we do not know about or it could be a second connection to a factory. People tend to think that fixing leaks is simple but it is not. If we take a standard district metering area and say there is 100 km of piping in it, and a large leak is fixed, the first thing that happens is everybody in the area instead of getting 7 litres a second get 9 litres a second and, therefore, part of the saving is gone. The second thing that happens is any leak in the area is now leaking at a faster rate because the pressure has been brought up. The third thing that happens in a lot of pipework is that the pipe further down the line says, "Feck this". It breaks and we have a new leak. The fourth thing that happens with consistent and persistent activity, investment, rehabilitation and fixing leaks is that we will eventually turn the dial back at the plant.