Mr. John Mullins:

I understand that the local authority is currently responsible for delivery of water to the point of the inlet. The stopcock is located at the entrance to the property and, as such, is effectively the dividing point. That is not the case in all properties, however. In respect of electricity and gas, everything that is downstream of the gas and electricity meter is the property of the house owner. Clearly transitional issues arise in regard to property rights and ownership of sections of pipes between boundary point and inlet where they are located on private property.