Results 4,701-4,720 of 9,159 for speaker:Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I have a question that I wish to put to the officials from the Department. The Department has issued guidelines which we assume are based on the engineering assessment of best practice. Today it was said that those guidelines are not binding. What is the point of guidelines, if they are not binding? Most people who are building their homes or running businesses understand there is a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Mr. O' Connor must appreciate the point that has been made. What is the point in making a recommendation? One of the issues that got us into the massive economic crisis of recent times was light-touch regulation or the non-existence of regulation. Here we have a Department that has gone to the trouble, we assume, of establishing engineering standards and issuing recommendations but these...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Essentially, from the evidence given by Irish Water and the Department, we know there are guidelines but they do not have to be followed. They are not binding. Irish Water has stated that repeatedly and Mr. O'Connor has confirmed it. It is a matter of profound concern that we have a Department which is responsible for good practice, regulation and oversight and which issued recommendations...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: In fairness, that is absolutely correct. The point Deputy Healy-Rae has made is not supplementary to the point I raised. That said, I will ask Irish Water to respond to Deputy Healy-Rae's point in a moment. I believe the Deputy is referring to documentation from Thames Water. He is referring to a Thames Water, company-specific addendum which states that boundary boxes of class B may be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: What is the point of recommendations that are not binding?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Obviously, the Department issues guidelines and recommendations to local authorities on a wide range of matters regularly, as is its right. Does Mr. O'Connor not believe it would also be prudent to issue to Irish Water guidelines that are binding and that protect the public interest?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Is Mr. O'Connor aware of any standards relating to these-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Yes, but is Mr. O'Connor aware of any standards that have a statutory footing and that are binding on Irish Water in this regard?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I will put the question again. Is Mr. O'Connor aware of any standards that are grounded in legislation, that are statutory and binding and to which Irish Water must adhere?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I ask that Mr. O'Connor consult his Department colleagues on this issue. The Irish Water representatives will come back to us within a week with responses to questions that were put to them so perhaps Mr. O'Connor could issue the committee with a response to the broad question, which is whether the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is aware of any statutory...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Yes, absolutely.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I will give an example-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I must interrupt for one second. That is an interesting point but if a local authority wishes to introduce rules and regulations relating to wind energy, for example, the Department can enforce its own guidelines, even though that is a matter vested in the local authority. There is precedent, therefore, of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government enforcing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Mr. Vaughan will appreciate our frustration. Today, in evidence given to this committee, Irish Water confirmed that there are recommendations or guidelines in place but that they are not binding. That is the difficulty. People are puzzled as to why the Department would issue any guidelines-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Were they binding on the local authorities?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: As a former county councillor, like many of my committee colleagues, it would be my understanding that it is not good practice to ignore guidelines, recommendations or frameworks that have been issued, whether binding or not. Why is it being tolerated that a local authority would be expected to comply with departmental guidelines or circulars but Irish Water would not?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I will allow Irish Water to wrap up now.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Go ahead with that. When we get the response to that, we will wrap up. We will expect a response back to the committee on the 24 questions listed and we may then get back to the witnesses for further clarification.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: We cannot deal with tender matters as they are subject to the judicial process. We are not dealing with the tender today.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Non-Compliant Installations of Water Meter Boxes: Irish Water and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (23 Sep 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: We will take a response to that, but be careful as to the response to ensure it does not impinge on the case before the courts.