Results 7,621-7,640 of 10,577 for speaker:Barry Cowen

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Standards of Service in Water Supply: Irish Water and CER (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: That is fine. I will come back if you are in a rush.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Standards of Service in Water Supply: Irish Water and CER (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: Does that mean €900 million from charges?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Standards of Service in Water Supply: Irish Water and CER (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: I know that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Standards of Service in Water Supply: Irish Water and CER (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: There were two establishment costs. There was an establishment cost of €10 million, which we were promised by the Department and there was €185 million that was drawn down from the National Pensions Reserve Fund that was used by Irish Water and approved by the Cabinet sub-committee.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Standards of Service in Water Supply: Irish Water and CER (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: Approximately 70 people worked in that transition body and also retained their work with local authorities. Some €3.5 million was paid to them, which would average €41,000 per person. Mr. Tierney can tell me if I am on the right track when I put this question to him, but can either he and Irish Water or the Department establish what specific work, over and above the work they...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Standards of Service in Water Supply: Irish Water and CER (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: Point three of the presentation relates to the delivery of water services that are not fit for purpose on a consistent basis and the fact that continuing to deliver in this way will only result in a further deterioration of water and wastewater services. Point four states the establishment of Irish Water as a national utility will secure and improve water services by bringing a systematic...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Standards of Service in Water Supply: Irish Water and CER (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: No problem. Mr. Tierney can note that one. On staffing levels, as Mr. Tierney knows, Irish Water has entered into a 12-year service level agreement with 34 local authorities and the staff of local authorities conducting work under these arrangements will remain local authority staff. The head count for 2014 for service level agreements is 4,320, but will Irish Water also employ an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Standards of Service in Water Supply: Irish Water and CER (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: Did the regulator think the costs and figures provided were adequate and reasonable and could be sanctioned and approved, without getting into the specifics one would expect a regulator to do?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Standards of Service in Water Supply: Irish Water and CER (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: So the initial review was sufficient to give clearance to proceed, without having had enough time to make specific inquiries into what was behind the headings?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Standards of Service in Water Supply: Irish Water and CER (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: Should the regulator have been given more information?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Standards of Service in Water Supply: Irish Water and CER (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: In hindsight, would the regulator prefer to have had the information, particularly regarding the level of consultancy fee costs and considering that many people feel that because of the reasons Bord Gáis was taken on board, much of those costs, which we have since learned about, might be available?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Standards of Service in Water Supply: Irish Water and CER (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: Is it only now that the regulator is going to analyse those costs? Therefore, it is only now that it will become apparent to taxpayers and customers who will be expected to pay water charges that they will have to foot the bill for the costs incurred, despite the fact the regulator might have been given notice of them, without the specific detail attached to that notice at the early stage.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Standards of Service in Water Supply: Irish Water and CER (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: In regard to staffing within the CER, is it correct that it has taken on 15 staff this year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Standards of Service in Water Supply: Irish Water and CER (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: I thank both bodies for appearing before the committee and their presentations. There are a few issues from our previous deliberations that we might address. In the first instance, on page 20 of the documentation, Mr. Tierney says he put in place an information service for Oireachtas Members and council members to ensure their information requests are responded to in a timely matter and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Standards of Service in Water Supply: Irish Water and CER (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: We will give it time to bed down to see if it proves more successful than was in place heretofore. I refer to the water service transition office. Did the funding which was spent on the office come from the €185 million in set up costs for Irish Water or was it a departmental spend based on the figure the Minister gave us in October 2012 in the Vote for the Department? He said...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Commercial Rates Issues (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: 237. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has assessed the impact of commercial rate charges on sporting organisations' grounds; the measures he proposes to address the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6209/14]

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Commercial Rates Issues (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: 238. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide a total and county breakdown of commercial rates paid by sporting organisations from 2010 to 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6210/14]

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Commercial Rates Issues (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: 366. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a county breakdown of collection rates for commercial rates in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6170/14]

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Commercial Rates Issues (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: 368. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he has raised the issue of sporting organisations paying commercial rates to local authorities on their grounds with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6211/14]

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Water Charges Administration (11 Feb 2014)

Barry Cowen: 402. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide in tabular form the total and county breakdown of unpaid non-domestic water charges due to each local authority; if the charges due will be transferred to Irish Water; if local authorities will be paid by Irish Water for these charges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6678/14]