Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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My understanding from what the representatives of Scottish Water said last week was that its decision not to have meters had been entirely politically motivated by the SNP Government. From independent surveys, the result seems to be that Scottish Water consumers are paying some of the highest water charges in Europe.

My understanding is the delivery of cost savings to customers, particularly those who want to be able to avail of cheaper water costs through water conservation, is a direct benefit of having a meter. Scottish Water is a fascinating case because the decision that was made backfired when Scottish consumers started to face increased costs. I understand the primary driver behind the provision by Welsh Water of individual meters for its customers - obviously, it is highly in favour of meters and has clearly advocated in favour of such provision - is the need to enable them to monitor their water consumption and achieve lower water bills through such monitoring and to provide for a much more efficient system of billing. I wonder if this fits with Irish Water's experience in Ireland. I think it is fair to say it is probably one of the main things we would like to achieve in Ireland in the use of meters.

I would like to refer to some other issues. Mr. Grant has indicated that approximately 28,000 leaks have been repaired. Under the completely archaic and dysfunctional system that previously applied in Ireland, if a massive complaint was made by neighbours who came across a leak, the relevant local authority would eventually have tried to stop the leak through a substantial and lengthy process using various legal channels. This resulted in the leak continuing for a substantial period. How would Mr. Grant characterise Irish Water's ability to repair a domestic leak for a customer, thereby delivering savings to him or her, from the point of detection to repair?

We heard testimony about a magical system involving a district meter that could be used in Ireland to detect a leak and link it definitively with an individual house in order that it could be repaired. I take it from the answer given by Mr. Grant that not only would it be cumbersome to have to send out staff to define the nature of the problem on a one-on-one basis but also that it would be quite difficult for such a system to detect a smaller leak. Will he indicate on a cost basis how much more expensive such a leak detecting system would be? How efficient does he think it might be for an individual household? Would the use of such a system be possible in Dublin, where large numbers of houses are connected to district meters? As he indicated, this is not the norm in other parts of the country.

I would like to mention a final issue on which I am seeking an update. I understand the introduction in this country of metering with an allowance initially resulted in a reduction in water usage. The reduction that was noted when this system was first announced evaporated, in effect, as the charging system changed. Is my understanding correct?