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

Yesterday, I received information under a freedom of information request from the Department of Social Protection, as did RTE. It was very revealing by virtue of the fact that it was written by a civil servant. It was sent by the Secretary General of that Department to the Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. It did not contain much of the Government spin that we have become used to. The first two paragraphs are redacted and we can assume they refer to the Government U-turn on the planned water charges.

The letter refers to the revised approach by Government and how it will impose an additional burden on the Department of Social Protection. It outlines the need for a project team, extra staff and how resourcing and processing the payment of the conservation grant applications in 2015 and beyond cannot be accommodated from within existing resources and the administration budget allocation it had received.

The letter also outlines what the Department of Social Protection needs to ensure that this grant processing process is delivered. It refers to consultancy costs, as if we have not had enough of them, and it mentions external service provision, including legal and procurement costs. It outlines the postal costs, as each household will have to be written to, the advertising charges and the administration team and staff required to support the application process. As the letter points out, these are the basic requirements, but if it needs to go beyond that, the costs and administration supports will escalate severely.

In addition to the millions of euro spent on consultants by Irish Water, we now have what appears to be, unless the Tánaiste can say otherwise, runaway costs in the Department of Social Protection to service this grant. There was no mention of these significant extra costs, as they are described, when the Government revised the charges, nor were they debated by the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste or the Minister, Deputy Kelly, in this House. This letter was written five days after the Government's announcement. It is a far cry from the certainty and clarity that was to be brought to bear, as the Taoiseach said, in this area.

It appears that information continues to be hidden by the Government, as it knows every decision it made on Irish Water last year and the charges associated with it has completely backfired. The more that is revealed, the less confidence there is in the entire debacle. The EUROSTAT test results will be released in March. From FOI and statements made by the Department in the media today, we know that it is still assessing the new initiatives, even though the Government made its decision last November.

Was the Tánaiste aware that this letter was sent? If she was, was it discussed with her beforehand? I have asked questions, as has Deputy Martin, and submitted parliamentary questions on this issue. We have asked the Minister questions, but have received no details. Other Opposition spokespersons have asked the same question. What steps has the Tánaiste taken to address the concerns outlined in the letter? Can she confirm, at this late stage, what the extra cost to the Exchequer will be as a result of the water conservation grants? What are the costs of consultancy, administration and other supports, such as staffing? Is EUROSTAT aware of these extra costs? Yesterday, the Minister said it had merely consulted the CSO on the rules, but not the content, pertaining to any such submission to EUROSTAT. Is EUROSTAT aware of the sorry saga regarding the water conservation grant and the costs associated with it because we, the representatives of the people, are not aware of it?

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