Mr. Garrett Blaney:

We can provide more information on that if the Deputy wishes. On the point that we only pay for the energy we consume, that is not exactly how we pay for energy. There is a standing charge for electricity and gas, something which is typical across Europe. There is also a loss and leakage equivalent in electricity and gas. The electricity losses in the system are typically around 10%, which is pretty good by international standards. Some of the gas in the gas system is used to drive compression in the system and again a proportion is lost in the process. In the case of Irish Water the loss is much too high and not at an economic level.