Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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249. To ask the Minister for Finance when he will confirm the amount by which the national debt was reduced following the transfer of the water-related debt in local authorities to Irish Water; the impact this will have on the national debt; the savings expected on an annual basis in terms of interest on the national debt; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33994/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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One the key benefits of establishing Irish Water as a commercial utility is that it will be able to access capital markets to raise the funds needed to tackle infrastructure deficit in water services infrastructure in a timely manner.  So, in the future, the borrowings of Irish Water will not affect the national or general government debt.  To access capital markets, Irish Water needs to have credibility in terms of collateral and capacity to service its debt.

The identification and quantification of the relevant financial liabilities transferring from Local Authorities to Irish Water is one of the key tasks being undertaken as part of the overall financial exercise currently being conducted between Irish Water and Local Authorities. My officials have been informed by the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government that a due diligence exercise is underway which, when completed, will clarify the position on the non-domestic debtors, along with any unfunded capital balances and any other miscellaneous debtors that are to transfer to Irish Water. When the due diligence exercise is completed the opening balance sheet take-on from Local Authorities will be known.