Nicky McFadden (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 168: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if a programme management office has been established for the Irish water initiative in his Department as per the recommendations of the November 2011 PWC Phase 1 report on Irish Water; when he expects the Phase 2 report from PWC to be submitted; when he expects this report to be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17317/12]

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Phase I of the independent assessment proposed an initial transition strategy based on a staged approach involving:

· Appointment of an interim board and Project Management Office in 2012 pending the establishment of Irish Water under its own statute by mid 2013;

· Irish Water would acquire statutory responsibility for water services in mid 2013, with ownership of assets transferring from local authorities from that date;

· Local authorities would be agents of Irish Water for a period with Irish Water taking over their operations on a phased basis from January 2015;

· The full transfer of operations would be completed by end 2017.

Phase 1 of the independent assessment on the establishment of a water utility and a paper setting out the proposed reforms in the water sector were published by my Department at the initiation of a public consultation in January 2012. Phase II of the assessment involves the development of an implementation plan which will address transformation planning in more detail. It is anticipated that this stage will be completed over the next month or so. Following the development and finalisation of a detailed implementation plan, the necessary programme management and governance arrangements will be established to drive the various activities required to set up the public water utility.