Ms Cathy Mannion:

Deputy Stanley referred to the leakage rate of 40% plus and asked how much mains rehabilitation was being carried out this year. I do not have an answer at this time because we are still working with Irish Water on the prioritisation of the capital programme and how it will allocate resources under its maintenance programme, which would include the fixing of mains. Management has asked for €348 million for capital maintenance over the period. We allowed that whole amount because, when we compared with other companies, we found Irish Water had proportionately less allocated to maintenance than was the case for other utilities.

We want to work with management to come up with a plan as to how it can demonstrate to us that its expenditure on maintenance is efficient and offers value for money. In the meantime, we are waiting for detailed proposals on the first-fix policy, which will itself have an impact on the level of the leaks because it will, in part, determine how much of the leakage is on the customer side of the meter and what percentage is on Irish Water's side. We will take all these factors together and sit down with management to come up with a matrix which can demonstrate how, by spending a certain amount of money, the level of leakages can be reduced. When we get to that point, we will be very happy to come back to the committee or submit information on the overall approach.