Mr. Niall Gleeson:

I have accepted accountability for this issue as head of Irish Water. I am responsible for water services for the vast majority of the country. I have taken that responsibility and, in a single public utility, that will be our responsibility. There is no question about that. I do not see that changing.

What we pointed out in the statement we put out is the factual situation around reporting. We have not tried to absolve ourselves from accountability. We have just pointed out the sequence of events. The responsibility sits with us and it is up to us to fix this problem. Like I said, issues will happen, mistakes will be made and equipment will fail. We need clear reporting lines so we can react quickly in future and ensure the untreated water does not get into the system. We are accountable today and will be under the single public utility.