Mr. Jerry Grant:

In term of trying to make a decision on that, one has to determine where the water is going. What is clear is that if one knows there is leakage in domestic houses by virtue of the meters, we can target it and it is probably the cheapest water to recover. Such domestic repairs, even the first-fix repairs funded by Irish Water, are relatively cost effective. Ultimately, none of that takes away from the fact that we have to do a massive amount of work on our public water network, in terms of finding and fixing leaks, replacing pipes, installing pressure management systems and all of the other elements that go into that network. In that sense, one is not an option compared with the other.

In terms of the economics of installing meters, that is not a question that Irish Water has addressed because the decision to install the phase one meters was a Government one made in the context of user-based charges. That said, we have tried to put some estimate on the long-term benefit of metering in terms of economic return. If we take a 40 year return period, for example, and look at the savings in water - assuming that out of the current level of household leakage of approximately 165 to 170 million litres, at least 70% to 80% of that can be saved consistently and retained over time - then we see that there is a long-term benefit in terms of both capital deferred and the marginal cost of producing water.

About one third to a half of household water lost through leakage goes down the sewer. Very little of the water lost through external leakage goes into a sewer but usually into the ground. If one takes this into account, as well as the deferred capital, whether it would fully justify the cost over a 40 year period is marginal, but it is getting there and that is without considering the environmental benefits and so on.

What members heard from representatives of Scottish Water and Welsh Water during the meeting last week was that, in the absence of a Government policy decision on user based charges, the decision to meter water usage was not a priority for them. Welsh Water clearly sees metering as a very attractive option. That is primarily driven by users who want to have their low usage recorded and pay for water on that basis. Their figures suggest the high users are not captured in metering. That is why it is operating on the basis that the householder will come forward and request that a meter be installed. Up to about 50% of households have had meters installed.

It is fundamentally a policy matter. I am identifying for members all of the benefits that flow from having a meter in terms of the way we can manage water supply, account for water usage, target local leakages and understand the level of leakages from the public system. One of the great fallacies prior to metering was that the domestic consumer was using about 145 litres per person. We now know that is not right. We know that if we exclude the top 7% of households, usage is about 110 litres per person. That has forced us to re-evaluate the level of leakages from the public system because we were understating them and assuming more was being lost from households. Whether that is the case in Scotland, I am not sure, but it would be hard to understand a person in Scotland using 20% more water than a person in Ireland.