Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The costs associated with the establishment of Irish Water are being transferred to the balance sheet of the new entity and will form part of its asset and capital base.

I refer to the evidence given yesterday by the Secretary General of the Department to the Committee of Public Accounts:

Irish Water is a commercial semi-State body within the Bord Gáis group and, as such, requirements for a ministerial consent to enter into capital commitments are required.

That consent would be required from the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resource, Deputy Pat Rabbitte. Perhaps he has been hiding away this week and allowing the Minister, Deputy Hogan, to take the flak about a semi-State organisation - Bord Gáis - which is under the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte's remit. He will have to answer the question as to whether he gave ministerial consent to Bord Gáis to enter into these capital commitments which form part of the capital base of Irish Water. This saga is not over yet and we need to get to the bottom of it.

I note that the Minister, Deputy Hogan, has in recent days been hiding behind the regulator. He has asked the regulator to verify his version of events. This information was made public at the meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts yesterday. The Commissioner for Energy Regulation, Mr. McGowan, stated in his presentation to the committee that the Commission for Energy Regulation expects to be formally appointed as Ireland's water regulator in the coming weeks. He is not the regulator because the Minister has not signed the order. As we speak there is no regulator. The Minister has been hiding behind the regulator that does not exist-----

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