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

Was it from the Central Government Fund? How much will be provided this year, and will it be from the Central Government Fund because that is on balance sheet? There is great talk about moving the expenses associated with water services off-balance sheet. I might add that the €300 million Irish Water has borrowed so far off-balance sheet is two and a half times the rate it would cost to borrow it on-balance sheet. The public need to know that it will not be the Government that will be paying it. Ultimately, it will be the taxpayers. They are already paying more, despite the fact that they have got less with regard to the provision and maintenance of services. The records for the past four years will show, and the Minister can check them, that less has been spent in the area of water services in terms of what is under the ground by comparison to what went before. In total, €1.5 billion has been spent on the preparation for a mechanism that is being postponed for two years in order for the costs associated with off-balance sheet to be hidden. When the rates are so high the only way it will be compensated is when the charges increase.

On the point I made-----

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