Dr. Tom Collins:

I can respond quickly. I have visited Scotland and looked at the public water forum there. It is a very different context though. In Scotland the broad parameters are agreed, so the role of the forum is really one of deciding on a fair price to charge. That is the one I have looked at most closely and it does not really resemble what I am proposing here. I am not aware of a similar structure in any other jurisdiction. I am drawing more on experience from the Irish context in other areas rather than from other jurisdictions in this area.

It is a large body but we could evolve into it. I think this an iterative process and it will evolve over time. It is a problem but I do not envisage the body we are suggesting as in any way encroaching, for instance, on the work of the regulator or the EPA. They are two very significant bodies in the field. Carving out the distinct roles for each is actually a challenge and would need to be given some more detailed thought.

The programme for Government also envisages the appointment of an external advisory group. We need some clarity as to what its roles will be and where the different roles fit. At the moment, the expert commission notes that the role of the public water forum is poorly understood. I think there has to be a role for public consultation. I believe this from a citizenship point of view and from a democratic point of view. Somebody needs to carry that and to be a vehicle for the public voice as it interacts both with the Commission for Energy Regulation, CER, and with Irish Water. Whether this entity should also have that wider advisory role or not is open for debate. My own view is that it should because it has a holistic perspective.

I have specifically discussed the river basin and we would see this new forum embracing the river basin plans and the water services issue. I do not think it would be helpful to separate them. They interact at the front line, as the quality of water going into the tap in the first instance has been determined to some extent by what has happened in the fresh water supplies, in lakes and rivers around the country. As part of the national rural water monitoring committee, I was involved in a project run for fresh water studies in Dundalk Institute of Technology involving the protection of a catchment area in Monaghan. I can see enormous possibilities in these kinds of initiatives but they need to be in synergy with the needs of the supply side, not to mention with the needs of water treatment services at the other end.