Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I have a number of questions. I will pursue the issue of metering, excessive use and how people pay for water. I do not know if the witnesses had an opportunity to read the expert commission's report, which recommends a free allowance for normal household use, with tariffs imposed on additional use. This is the recommendation the joint committee is considering. In Wales, approximately 50% of domestic customers have a water meter. Mr. Jones, responding to a question from Deputy Colm Brophy, indicated that excessive use was roughly the same for customers with a meter and those without a meter. How does Welsh Water measure usage among people who do not have meters?

Perhaps I misunderstood Mr. Jones's point, but I am interested in finding out how usage can be measured in the absence of meters. I am aware that Welsh Water and Scottish Water use district meters, which are useful for identifying leaks and so forth. However, as the committee must grapple with the recommendations of the expert commission, I am interested in finding out how excessive use would be measured in the absence of meters. I am aware that the system of local taxation applies at different rates to different sizes of houses in Scotland. In the Irish system, however, we are presented with a different question.

Mr. Jones and Mr. Millican referred to what appear to be excellent educational materials. I wonder whether we could plagiarise those or whether Welsh Water and Scottish Water have copyright on them.