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

If I may, I will repeat some of the points I made. Section 27 provides that Irish Water shall prepare investment plans setting out where Uisce Éireann considers investment in infrastructure is necessary for the effective performance of its functions. That is the first point. There will be investment plans. In developing these investment plans, Uisce Éireann shall take account of the water services strategic plan prepared under section 26 and a range of other policy considerations including, and this is the important part, local area plans, regional planning guidelines and strategic development zones.

Before preparing an investment plan Irish Water will be required to consult with the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, the regional bodies in respect of whose functional area the investment plan is likely to apply, and each planning authority in respect of whose functional area the investment plan is likely to apply. Copies of this plan must be submitted by Irish Water to the regional and planning authorities. If someone is on a planning authority, they will get a copy of the plan and will have an opportunity to debate it. The first investment plan should be prepared for the two year period after the transfer date, and further investment plans shall be for durations to be determined by the Commissioner for Energy Regulation. It must consult with the elected people in the council, the planning authorities, the EPA and the regional authorities.

I have no doubt there will be difficult decisions to be made, and they will be predicated upon what the capital investment is for whatever period, but the first period will be two years, which will at least give certainty to the works that will be done in the first two years. I presume many of those works will be at the planning stage now because I could not imagine getting too many new ones designed and ready to roll out of the blue in terms of planning, costing and so on.

I would be confident Uisce Éireann will consult widely. I am confident that local councillors would be aware of what is happening. Conflicts of interest might arise in terms of what a local area might want. It might want to rezone 200 acres outside its town for whatever purpose, which is a problem that arose in the past. That is what councils did during the boom but there were no services to deal with that planning and now many of the planning permissions granted have been rescinded. What we need is proper planning and development and proper consultation, and I believe that will happen.