Mr. Paul McGowan:

Yes. That analysis is contained within the documents we have published and management is aware of it. The targets we set for Irish Water are challenging but realistic. The 7% per annum reduction we have set for operating expenditure, OPEX, is the start of the process. We will look at setting more stringent OPEX reduction targets under the first full price control exercise, which will run from 2017.

In terms of Irish Water's responsibility versus the customer's liability in the context of location of meters and so on, this is a matter of law and not something we would review. The legal situation that prevails is that the customer is liable up to the mains which, in many cases, runs down the middle of the road. Irish Water, in accordance with custom and practice, has taken responsibility for the water service pipe up to the boundary of the property. The legal situation the company is dealing with is no different from that which prevailed under the local authorities. That is a matter for Government and not something over which we have control.

In terms of the cap and the assessed charges, we have recognised that people may be in a situation where they are facing a meter charge and do not know what it will be. That is why we have specifically moved from a six-month to a nine-month cap on charges. Once people have a meter installed, they will see what their bill would have been if it had not been capped. This will afford customers the opportunity to change their consumption patterns, if they are able to do so, in order to manage their bills.

In general, our objective is to set charges that reflect the efficient cost of carrying out a piece of work. We do not have the legal remit to take affordability into account. That is a matter for Government, and it applies to people's ability to pay their water charges. It is not an area in which we have a legal remit. We try to set water charges that represent the efficient level of costs. In regard to the level of call-out charges specifically, we have not approved anything in that regard. We will consult on that issue and our expectation is that-----