Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Question 106: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will consider investing in the water infrastructure as both a water saving measure and job creation measure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20884/12]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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My Department's Water Services Investment Programme 2010 – 2013 places a high priority on water conservation. In the year to end September 2011, some 200 kilometres of public water supply pipes had been replaced or rehabilitated under this programme. Funding is particularly targeted at areas where the level of unaccounted for water is unacceptably high.

Since the national water conservation programme was implemented in 2003, over €208 million has been specifically invested in water conservation measures by my Department. In addition, local authorities fund active leakage control, detection and repair from their own operational budgets. Most of the effort to date has been focused on putting in place the water management systems to allow for active leakage control and better planning of mains rehabilitation. Most local authorities have now prepared watermains rehabilitation strategies, which set out the priority mains for replacement and repair and provide the platform for accelerated investment in this area over the coming years. The primary objective of this programme of work is to reduce water loss and leakage in the distribution networks to an economic level and to address high levels of unaccounted for water.

The proposed water metering programme will complement the continuing programme of investment in water mains rehabilitation and replacement. The installation of water meters will encourage households to conserve water, reduce consumption and will ensure that customer side leaks can be identified and fixed. Metering will, therefore, achieve significant reductions in the volumes of water that are required to be produced and treated and will lead to savings in the operational costs of delivering water services and in deferred capital expenditure. My Department estimates that there is the potential to provide up to 2,000 jobs per annum from the metering programme. The installation of the meters is labour intensive involving minor excavation and reinstatement works after the installation of the meter. This will provide much needed employment in the construction sector.