James Bannon (Fine Gael)

Will the water services authority be financed by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government? Will it have to raise its own funds? Will it have to raise money by charging for water services? I ask the Minister of State to elaborate. I am somewhat concerned that it will impose charges if it wants funding. It is unrealistic that the groups availing of the authority's services will be asked to pay if it does not receive back-up funding from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government or another body. I ask the Minister of State to clarify where the authority's funding will come from. I am concerned that it will be allowed to impose significant charges on the users of its services if it needs additional funding.