The first water meter getting installed in Maynooth, Co Kildare on August 8, 2013
Irish Water should stop installing water meters in homes, the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) has declared, warning that the cost of completion will cripple efforts to improve water quality and supply.
In a submission to an Oireachtas committee which is investigating options, the CER – Ireland’s water regulator – said finishing the programme was not a priority.
So far 58 per cent of households have had meters put in place – the installation efforts have been strongly opposed in some places – but several hundred thousand properties remain to be linked. No money has been put in Irish Water’s 2017/18 capital budget to finish the work.
Meanwhile…
You may recall the publication of the Report on the Funding of Domestic Public Water Services in Ireland by the Expert Commission on Water Charges in November.
Further to this.
Today, at 2pm, the report will be discussed at a meeting of the Joint Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services.
Representatives of the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Irish Water, and the Commission for Energy Regulation will attend the meeting.
Watch the meeting live, from 2pm, here.
Regulator says Irish Water should not proceed with metering (Sarah Bardon, Irish Times)
Previously: Denis O’Brien, Fine Gael And The Water Meter Deal
Rollingnews
UPDATE:
At the meeting of the Joint Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services…
Paul McGowan, of the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), said it is not calling for the installation of water meters to be abandoned completely.
In response to a series of questions from Fine Gael TD Kate O’Connell – in which she queried the CER commenting on water meters and asked why the CER thinks it’s appropriate for the project, which, she said, is 75 per cent finished, to be abandoned…
There was the following exchange:
Paul McGowan: “Specifically, in relation to metering, we were asked the committee a number of questions in relation to metering and that was the basis on which we offered ideas and views in relation to the future of metering, at the committee’s request. So, that was the genesis of those answers.”
“Metering is a regulatory matter, I would say. It forms the basis in utility regulation for a large element of charging regimes, right across energy, water and other utilities. We recognise that the first phase of the metering was a decision that was taken by Government and that was [inaudible] so to speak to Irish Water, and to us, as a decision. And future consideration of further roll-out of metering.
“For example, to apartment buildings and those houses, or customers, who haven’t been metered in the first place was always going to be something that we would be looking at, in due course, in the overall cost-benefit, the cost of doing it and what would the benefits be.
“And that ultimately we would have worked with Irish Water to determine what’s the most efficient approach to close out the metering programme. So it is, it is something that a regulator would have a very close interest in.”
Kate O’Connell: “So, would you say, sorry, I probably phrased it incorrectly at the start. What you’re saying is that abandoning, or not abandoning it, stopping it, it’s to do with areas that there’s challenges about the metering, it’s not overall metering?”
McGowan: “Well to come back to that..”
O’Connell: “Yeah, I need you to clarify your statement essentially.”
McGowan: “To be very clear, we did not say that we should abandon…”
O’Connell: “Right, okay.”
McGowan: “To be absolutely clear. What we said was that, at this time, to proceed with another major programme of metering investment, given that the, as we see it, the proposal from the expert commission, was that the vast majority of water should be paid by the State and that only excessive use charged to customers. In that context, we said that, at this time, there are other priorities for capital investment but that we can come back and look at whether there was a case for further metering in due course.”
“But in the meantime, there were other options that could be looked at. And that was the context within which we replied to the committee. We did not boldly state that metering should be abandoned. We just said, at this time…”
O’Connell: “Park it.”
McGowan: “Yes…”
Watch the meeting live here
UPDATE:
Ervia chief executive Michael McNicholas says Irish Water did not spend €73m on consultants, rather they were ‘internatioanl experts’.
— Philip Ryan (@Philip_Ryan) January 12, 2017
And Water Committee hears the cost of billing is €25 million – a year!
— Páraic Gallagher (@paraicgallagher) January 12, 2017
Speaking about costs…
Mr McGowan said:
“Irish Water, at this stage of its evolution, is a high-cost utility. We would expect that because it has inherited 34 different water authorities but our analysis would indicate that they’re up to twice the cost of an efficient utility so what we will be doing over this revenue control, and the following revenue controls, is ensuring that they deliver the efficiencies to get down to the level of efficient operation, a level of cost of an efficient operation.”
God bless Dinny O’Brien. We need more tax-avoiding businessmen. Keep the economy fit and trim. Long live Malta! Hail Kenny!
I thought that was Enda installing the meter
The CER wants to start rolling out SMART electric meters in the next few years, so they’ll want Irish Water meters to be a distant unpleasant memory when the leccy man is knocking on your door asking you to allow another meter be installed.
When Irish Water eventually flows away…
When it’s champions eventually take a run and jump… realising it was a bridge too far…
It will all be water under the bridge and they’ll wash their hands of it.
Allow me to be more lyrical…
Listen to me [REDACTED]
Your policies won’t be enacted
Your media tools
Won’t make us all fools
Your endeavours WILL be protracted
I’m really proud of everyone who stood up against water charges. after years of being financially raped, when we couldn’t give any more, they tried to heap a massive extra bill on us, for the benefit of the people who had already taken all we had. we couldnt take any more. and to all those who ridiculed protestors, who said we must pay for it, if we had not marched and put up a fight, you’d be looking at an extra bill right now, costing you hundreds of euro. i don’t think it’s over, they will try bring the charges back in, but we’ll keep fighting it, and I encourage more people to join, if you’re sick of being sold off to Europe, you should join.
Sold off to Europe? What does that even mean?
that even means that we pay of 42% of all of Europe’s banking debts
Sigh…. we actually really do have a water infrastructure problem that needs to be solved.
sigh .. one that couldve been updated/fixed using all the money they pumped into irish water
@15
Not to sound patronising but I’d recommend tuning into committee room 4 right now as per BS post above. Lots of facts in discussion
15p is too much, by about 15p or more..
This isn’t Africa. We have too much water. Why aren’t we selling it or swapping it for diamonds?
– Think about it…
Selling it to ourselves…
– Seriously… Do you know how stupid that will look in the years to come..?
Can you imagine how difficult it will be to explain to your grandchildren?
To find leaks you need meters. Lots of them.
They should have started back at the reservoirs and worked their way out.
Unfortunately this was never about repairing leaks.
That work was done in the Dublin region about 15 years ago.
It cost €47m (£37m) and reduced leakage from 42.5% to 28%
How much has Dublin grown in 15 years and is due to grow over the next few years?
Greater Dublin area is now 40% of the population with a need for over 20,000 new homes a year to cater for huge pent up demand.
This is from a foggy memory now..but isn’t there a payment of about €2k on each new build for water connection/infrastructure? If those 20K houses were put up every year, that’s €40 million a year? Does this not fund water in tandem with (properly allocated) general taxation?
That’s too rational an argument for the Irish Water cheerleaders (whom there are less and less of each day).
I don’t know the hard numbers but it’s somewhere in the region of “loads”.
The district metering project didn’t stop after it’s initial conception and is an ongoing part of operations that has been expanded on as development required. I just wanted to point out how long it’s been since district metering was put in.
Individual domestic meters are the last massive missing piece in the Dublin conservation effort. To solely put them in for conservation does not make sense when put through a Cost-Benefit analysis, but it does not change the fact that they are the only practical tool for identifying private side leaks and excessive consumption.
There’s a proposal in that there are incentives to be paid for not using full allocation of water or a tax rebate for being a thrift water user.
To do that, meters are needed but they would be at request.
Irish Water isn’t going away, the need to pay for water and to conserve it isn’t either.
The question is if there is a solution that would be palatable to the majority of people.
So have a referendum on water infrastructure to keep it in public ownership.
Have generous allowance for personal need.
Have system in place for those who can’t afford water charges.
Have incentive to conserve water that would require meter installation.
FF want to fold payments in with property charge, as that already has high rate of compliance.
It hasn’t been defeated, it will just change.
Agreed
Personally I see this tax rebate carrot as another tactic to divide and conquer by el govermento?
Ha ha ha, enjoyed this post.
We need to keep up the resistance, it is showing clear results.
Already pay for water, not paying again.
I reported a bad leak in Dublin City centre to them 2 weeks ago, still leaking when I walked past it this morning!
thats coz theyre not here to fix anything, or improve services, or whatever other nonsense they say theyre here for. all they ever wanted to do was collect a bill off everyone.
Although I admit I enjoy
The arguments that I employ
You all seem inept
At rising to my depth
I wonder sometimes why I try.
You’re a bunch of idiots, aren’t you?
Yes, you…
I’m talking about YOU.
Blandsheet
Brokesheet.
Broodsheet.
Blokesheet.
Brandsheet
Bullsheet.
etc…
I’m browsing on Broadsheet.ie
when i stumble upon some glee
from a user who thinks
that his poopoo dont stink
but his effort is appreciated bigly
I’m right behind you Boj
I agree with whatever you say
But do not be so silly
I suck my own willy
I’m not like the rest, I’m not gay.