Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There has been an awful lot of analysis of Irish Water, but the way in which it has been set up as a utility means that it now has huge capacity to borrow and invest into the future. Deputy Murphy knows there will be economies and deferred costs in the future as a result of the investments that have been made. It will be possible to prioritise projects. Irish Water is currently in the process of undergoing various techniques as regards borrowing for the future. We would not be able to intercept these projects and put in place the capital plan that I am going to receive from Irish Water in the next couple of months. The Government simply would not have the capacity to put in that investment. Given the way Irish Water has been set up, and its borrowing capacity and income streams, we will be able to do that. It will be able to deal with the multitude of issues coming down the track, particularly, dare I say, in the conurbation around Dublin where we sit, which will have serious water problems in the very near future if the investment is not fast forwarded. I am not convinced that governments in the future would be in any position to invest at the necessary level if Irish Water had not been set up in this way. That is the reason we went down this road.

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