Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I thank our guests. Their contributions are fascinating, and the case is well made for the Shannon extraction. Given the figures they quoted in respect of the volume requirement for the greater Dublin area, we are obviously on a knife edge. My concern is that whereas that is absolutely necessary and understandable, if people are living in provincial Ireland, their concerns are going to be about how to get this project done without adversely impacting on the budget for other works of significant capital nature given the volume of capital that will be required.

The witnesses might also give us some information on the remaining steps because I am still somewhat confused. Obviously, there is a business case and all of that, but planning, contractual work, tendering, etc., and all those steps that have yet to be completed. If Uisce Éireann was to get a green light at all those stages - and that is a big if - what timeline do the officials envisage before they will be signing contracts and work will commence? Obviously, the perilous state of the water supply to the greater Dublin area is high risk.

Coming back to the provincial Ireland requirements, I am sure that like most members here, I could instance numerous cases that worry us and our constituents in respect of water supply and service. I can recall one instance very close to where I live in Cork where there have been eight water supply outages since last November. If that happens at a weekend, on some occasions people cannot get anybody out to repair it until the Monday morning. In one case, a nursing home involved was left with no water supply. That allied with the capital commitment required does raise issues around what is going to be left for the rest of us in terms of funding. I have some sympathy for the funding model Irish Water is operating under because decisions were made with regard to its autonomous revenue sources, which we now live with, but it has a constraining capacity to deliver the kind of service to which we all aspire.

I am interested in reassurance on provincial Ireland's share of the cake. Even that is not entirely adequate, given that the level of service is, in many respects, not what I would call adequate.

I am also interested in leakage and the replacement of water mains. Multiple leaks on the same water main suggest that there is something wrong with the main itself. At what point does Uisce Éireann say that there are so many leaks on a water main, it must be replaced? Does Uisce Éireann have a picture in that regard? I presume we are mostly replacing older water mains, particularly those incorporating asbestos pipes. Where are we with the target to replace all asbestos water mains? I do not wish to be alarmist but they tend to break more than the newer pipes. There are also other issues that alarm people with regard to asbestos water mains, although I am not qualified to comment on them. What is the timeline for that? Does it stand in jeopardy if a major capital project of the nature of the one we were just talking about is about to be signed off on?