Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is confirming that he is in the process of putting a mechanism in place by which answers may emanate from Irish Water, but, as it stands, in the case of the figures of €180 million and €540 million, it remains the position that the Department is not obliged to answer any question asked of the Minister in the normal fashion by Members of this House on behalf of taxpayers, as would be the case in relation to parliamentary questions.

See this speech in context