David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In fairness, the Minister of State has been somewhat helpful with his response and has clarified some of our concerns. The point he is making is that there will be consultation with local authorities. If I understand what he said, local authorities will be asked to submit a plan to Irish Water in respect of the various schemes that may need to be upgraded or whatever it might be in their area.

They would be asked to submit their opinions and to say what is the priority. The difficulty for Irish Water will be how to determine which of the competing plans for schemes coming in from local authorities around the State are most necessary. This is a finite resource and that would be a big job for Irish Water. When it is finished with plans and consultation Irish Water has to decide how it will spend its money. What guidelines will it work from? What hierarchy will it work from?