Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

It is far from my intention to suck away the local authority involvement in terms of knowledge or expertise. There will be service level agreements between Irish Water and local authorities. They will continue to be involved in the provision of water and wastewater facilities and the operation and maintenance of them at local level, as they are now. What I am taking away is the responsibility of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government in setting up this new entity as a stand alone entity within the Bord Gáis group to allow more investment in water and wastewater services from the private sector become part of the public capital programme. We do not have the money and will not have it over the next two years to do what we need to do to generate the necessary infrastructure in water and wastewater services for economic development and job creation. We have to find the money elsewhere, and there is some interest in the private sector becoming involved. It will be part of the public utility company we have agreed to establish.

I am interested in Deputy Collins's view about the way water charges can be levied locally to meet the requirements at local level. Every area is different in regard to the provision of water and wastewater. We must have the regulation of those matters at central level but we also need the assets and liabilities of local authorities to be available to Irish Water in the water and wastewater area to attract private investment into the sector. That is the best way in which we can do so at the moment.

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