Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 26 June 2014

Public Accounts Committee

2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 4 - Vote Accounting
Chapter 10 - Central Government Funding of Local Authorities
Chapter 11 - Costs of Land Remediation
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government

2:00 pm

Ms Maria Graham:

To clarify, Irish Water is a commercial company owned by the State obviously and owned, therefore, by the taxpayer. The assets that are going are State assets. They were funded largely by the State; 75% of the funding came through capital grants. If Irish Water, for example, had to raise finance to pay local authorities the €11 billion to pay the State, it would not be equally able to raise the same amount to invest in the assets.