Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Perhaps I can ask a few specific questions. I ask Irish Water what design life it expects to get from either grade C or grade B box covers. Both presentations stated that the guidelines, circulars and standards, whether UK or Irish, are not binding either by the Department, with respect to Irish Water, or by Irish Water in terms of the rules. How then could they allow companies to guess, essentially, the requirements of Irish Water if the appropriate standards are based on experience and not laid down standards?

Why can Irish Water not use the specifications and insist on what it has learned from experience? In the context of the design life, a figure of 50 years has been mentioned to me. This means there is a long way to go in terms of the lifetime of these caps. However, the level of experience in terms of the installation of the covers is not high. How can we draw conclusions as to the appropriateness of the experience with regard to the specifications which are being issued to companies? Let us be fair, what else would they use in coming up with appropriate designs to supply tenders? Did Irish Water envisage, before the metering project began, that in certain areas or circumstances a grade B box of a particular standard would be required? If so, was an evaluation carried out of how many grade B-type covers would be required?

Part 7 of the executive summary, which is the briefing note supplied by Irish Water, states that the Department's circular is not binding on the company. It is good engineering design practice to follow standards such as those specified in the Department's circular in the absence of any independent design or risk evaluation. However, such standards need not be automatically followed where good design and planning suggests an alternative, equally robust solution. In the absence of anything else, it appears that we are almost guessing what will happen in terms of where some of these covers will be installed. Between 80% and 90% are installed appropriately in areas where there are pedestrians and cars but they are also being installed in areas that are accessed by fuel trucks, tractors and other agricultural machines. Do the witnesses agree that, in the context of areas where there is agricultural commercial activity and where domestic meters are being installed, it would be appropriate to state that in the next 50 years - or whatever is the design life of these covers - there is a slight chance that a tractor, a heavy goods vehicle or a fuel truck will drive over the covers and that it would, therefore, be prudent to opt for heavier covers? Was an evaluation carried out as to the number of such covers that would be required when assessing the tenders?

I hope I will have the opportunity to pose a number of supplementary questions.