Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As soon as I can. I have already told the Deputy that I will do it in 2014 and I am doing everything I can to amend the building regulations to ensure that new buildings and new planning applications will have to include a rainwater harvesting plan. I totally agree with the Deputy on that point.

I will provide the committee with the one or two pages of information on the financial issues that the Deputy raised. I have no difficulty with that. It is interesting to note that the figure for leakage in the network is 40%, which is exactly the same as the figure in 2006. We have spent €30 million per year every year since then and have made no impact because as we solve a problem in one area, another arises somewhere else. We have not been able to catch up with the low level of investment that we have on the leakage side. We will take three initiatives on the leaks. First, we need additional capital investment and that is where, off balance sheet, Irish Water will be able to borrow money in order to provide the additional capital investment for that purpose. Second, we are going to introduce a first-fix leak system to the metering programme so that when the meters are turned on, we will provide financial assistance in order to ensure that the customer is not held responsible for a legacy leak outside his or her boundary. However, there is customer side leakage as well and customers will have to find a way to resolve those themselves.

We estimate that with the metering programme, there will be a 15% reduction in consumption, which will save a considerable amount of water. This is based on an analysis of group water schemes, which are already metered. A lot of people in this country have had water meters for a long time. Those in the commercial sector and those in group water schemes have had meters for some time. When water meters were installed in the group water sector, the drop in consumption was between 20% and 30% because leaks had to be detected and repaired. There is a lot of good work going on in the group water sector that we are trying to learn from and which the contractors are learning from. The customer will also have to learn. The water conservation plan, to be outlined by Irish water, will take the best practice, knowledge and expertise that are out there and impart them to people.

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform will be making Irish Water subject to the Freedom of Information Act as quickly as possible. Indeed, he repeated that to me yesterday. We have no difficulty in doing that. We are not waiting for the legislation to go through the House before doing that. We will bring it in under the existing regulations. The Minister feels that he will be able to do that.