Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is no intention to privatise water services. The investment in this sector is key to our strategic interests and the legislation restates the existing prohibition on the privatisation of water assets. Legislation provides that one cannot own a public water asset. Internationally, publicly owned utilities are the norm in the water sector. Revenue generated by Irish Water will be reinvested in infrastructure, as there is a significant requirement for investment and providing new infrastructure over the coming decade.

I have examined the issue of district metering to which Senator Cullinane referred. Every local authority uses district metering to monitor water usage. If the water being consumed is greater than they expect, they close parts of the system to find where is the leak. Everybody can see a major leak when the main pipe bursts and water floods out, but the biggest problem is we never see the small or medium sized leaks which could be going on forever.

The problem is that on the public side there is leakage and unaccounted for water that is wasted but also on the private side, in the Senator's house or in my house, between the tap and the connection there can be significant leakage. Subject to correction that leakage can be as high as 20% or 30% in some cases. Private side leakage, that is, from the kerb into one's home, is another important reason for metering. It enables one to check whether there is leakage and wastage. District metering plays an important role but it is not the answer. Therefore, I suggest the Senator withdraw his opposition to the section as it does not stand up to scrutiny. The only thing that makes sense is to cut back on water wastage. That is why on the private side metering is required as it is the only way of addressing the issue.