Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I thank Mr. Grant for his presentation.

This is probably one of the largest infrastructure projects in the history of the State. It is probably in the top three in terms of its size and its cost. It is important this committee scrutinises it in as much detail as possible. I hope this is the first of a number of engagements in this regard.

There has been much debate around the accuracy of the projections of the future water needs of the Dublin water supply region, not only the city but the larger region. I note that two of the early assessment reports in 2006 and 2010 had projections for 2015. When we got to 2015, however, they were in fact greatly inflated because water usage in the city had plateaued by then.

I have read with great interest the back-and-forth between Irish Water and the Kennedy report authors contesting their figures. I am not convinced the issues the authors of the Kennedy report raised have been fully answered. I am particularly interested in Mr. Grant's responses to the concerns they have raised around the overestimation of the projected need of Dublin's water needs in the future.

Related to that, the population projections from Irish Water are based on the population and economic development of Dublin and the surrounding region on an as-is basis, namely, all other things remaining as they currently are. We are in the middle, however, of the development of the national planning framework. One of the issues the framework is trying to address is to come up with a Government policy which can start to reverse that trend away from the overconcentration in Dublin and its region to a more balanced regional development. It seems to be premature for this project to fix on its population projections and move to an An Bord Pleanála application before the national planning framework is completed. What is in that document when it is finalised could have significant consequences for Irish Water's planning application and population projection figures. Would it not be more prudent, given that the framework will be ready in September, to wait for the outcome of that before Irish Water proceeds?

There is the same point with the river basin management plan. This is meant to be ready by the end of the year. Much good new work and research has been done by the Environmental Protection Agency's catchment management unit, which is directly relevant to the environmental impact of this project, as well as the contentious issue of groundwater and whether it could provide some additional capacity for Dublin. The last report on groundwater in Dublin in 2008 was quite controversial. It did not do much primary research itself into the availability of groundwater resources. That information will be available when we have the river basin management plan and the EPA catchment management unit's survey. Again, would it not be more prudent, given that this will be ready at the end of the year, to wait to factor it into this plan?

It is same again with the abstraction regulations required under the water framework directive. I understand there is a working group in the Department looking at the extraction regulations. This is a crucial part of the compliance with the relevant directive. What level of engagement has Irish Water had with this working group? Obviously, that is relevant to any extraction from Parteen weir.

I refer to the national water resources plan. Part of the pitch in the presentation is the inclusion of this benefiting corridor, yet there is no plan in terms of the future water infrastructure in that area. Would it not have been better to have that plan in place before a case is made regarding the benefiting corridor?

On leakage and water conservation, if the plan is agreed by An Bord Pleanála, is constructed and water starts pumping into Dublin, on the basis of Irish Water's figures 40% will be lost straight away. I understand reducing the current 40% water loss to 20% takes a lot of time and money, but would it not make more sense to accelerate that process to the greatest possible extent so that if a pipeline project like this goes ahead, less than 40% of the water that is being pumped across the country is lost?

I know water conservation is not primarily the responsibility of Irish Water, rather of other Government agencies. To what extent has there been a cross-departmental or inter-agency approach to try to have greater use of the water in Dublin in parallel to this project?

The only strategic environment assessment for this project was done in 2008, when the project was on a smaller scale. I would like to know why a strategic environmental assessment is not being carried out for the larger project. I also have a concern about the environmental impact assessment, or the lack thereof, for the benefiting corridor. Can the delegation talk us through that?

I refer to Dublin Bay. We know that the European Commission currently has enforcement proceedings against the State for failure to comply with the urban wastewater directive. One of the areas of concern is Dublin Bay, where a significant amount of wastewater is being pumped into the bay. In the discussions with the Commission and Irish Water or the Department on compliance with the urban wastewater directive, is the Commission fully aware of the increased volumes of wastewater that could be dispersed into Dublin Bay as a result of the increased level of water coming into the city and the region through this project?

In terms of tackling that issue, a chemical, orthophosphate, would be used in the Ringsend water treatment plant. That has significant environmental impacts in terms of algae and large plants in the Dublin Bay region. What environmental impact assessments of the consequences of that for a greater level of water going into Dublin Bay have been undertaken?

This is clearly an Irish Water project, but it is really a State project that affects not just Irish Water but the relevant local authorities, the Departments of Communications, Climate Action and Environment and Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government and the Environmental Protection Agency. There have been high-level contacts in terms of directives. I am interested in knowing the level of technical day-to-day or week-to-week engagement between the different agencies up until this point. If this project goes ahead, what kind of management and inter-agency co-ordination would take place as the project is being implemented and once it is up and running into the future?