Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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484. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of jobs created by the programme to install water metering; the number of companies contracted to install water meters and the number of these from the Republic of Ireland; and if he will provide a list of these companies. [7912/14]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for Government sets out a commitment to the introduction of water charges based on usage above a free allowance. The Government considers that charging based on usage is the fairest way to charge for water and it has, therefore, decided that water meters should be installed in households connected to public water supplies. The Water Services Act 2013 provided for the establishment of Irish Water as an independent subsidiary within the Bord Gáis Éireann Group and assigned the necessary powers to allow Irish Water to undertake the metering programme.

Four regional main contractors covering eight meter regions were appointed by Irish Water following a public tendering process. These contractors have responsibility for appointing sub-contractors who are responsible for recruiting suitably qualified staff to carry out the work. The contractors received, as part of their contract, details of the panel of subcontractors formed by my Department. The contractors may employ from that list, but are under no obligation to do so. The employment of subcontractors is a matter for each regional contractor.

Data supplied to the Department by Irish Water indicates that there were 1,060 people employed by the subcontractors at the end of January 2014. The social inclusion commitment that forms part of the contracts for the metering programme requires that a minimum of 25% of the jobs be allocated to people on the live register, small businesses and school leavers/graduates gaining employment. Irish Water is in the process of verifying the social inclusion targets for end January but has informed my Department that based on previous verifications it is confident that it has exceeded the social inclusion targets.