 Rwm wedi bod amser, Gweinwyr, a'n rhaid i'r diwrnod o'r meddwl o'r PHPA. Wrth gwrs, dweud ymarfer yn icynt, fel gyflwgr ar gyfer y geinwyr iddyn nhw mewn dengwyb. Rwy'n mynd i ddweud o gael, lle mae'n gofynol ar y pobl a'u symud o'r grannu'r plan. Mae'n rhan o'r cyfnod o gallu'r bobl i synthenu, ac rwy'n mynd i'n chylo i dda i ffynyddio'n gydig i cefnod? Mae'n hwnnw yn ngwisellt...! Rydym yn ei bod yn ddegwyd yw'r ffordd cyfnodd. Ond yn ei bod yn rhan i'r ddiweddog Ysgrifenniddio Llyfrgellol i'r Ffordd Llyfrgell sydd gennym o gynhyrch i ddegwyd yng Nghaerffod Llyfrgell, ac mae'n fwrdd i'r dda i ddim yn ei gweithio i fynd o'r ddweud, a'r cyfnodd yr Ysgrifenniddio Llyfrgell yng Nghymru yn ei wneud amdano o'r mynd i ddechrau i fynd i fynd i gyfrifennid o'r Gweithrell yn ymgyrchu. I published some documentation on that and policy on that some years ago and it's amazing the way that people read these things now, they didn't read it at all at that time. But the seminar today is very timely and I commend the institute for assembling a panel of international expertise that I'm sure will give us the benefit of experiences and I want to invite you Mr Chairman to collate the distilled wisdom of the seminar here today to inform our thinking and the initiation of the process tomorrow in cabinet is what it is, the initiation. But over the next couple of weeks I'll be glad to feed in your views and we have to get this right and we won't shatter this probably in our lifetime to get it right. So there are big decisions to be made and we'd appreciate your views. The water supply system in Ireland today is not working to the extent that we would like with over 950 public water supplies producing over 1600 million litres a day to a network of 25,000 kilometres of pipe. Pipe isn't great, water isn't great in places and volumes and quality generally have to be improved. We cannot have the type of household quality and reduction in illnesses and dangers to public health. We cannot have job creation, inward investment without having good quality and volumes of water. The EPA data indicates that some 85% of the population are connected to public water supplies and 8% are connected to group schemes. So we have a lot of connectivity in the public area and the remainder of the population receive their water supplies from private wells. I don't know why they're getting excited about separate tanks then if that's the case. But the water services authorities are responsible directly or indirectly for waste water provision and some 480 adlamorations with a population equivalent of more than 500 and over 500 further adlamorations with population equivalents of less than 500. So the latest report on water quality by the EPA, water quality in Ireland 2007 to 2009 has found evidence of some improvements in water quality but in comparison with other EU member states Ireland has better than average water quality but continued improvements across a range of sectors are needed if Ireland is to achieve our water quality targets for 2015 and 2020 as we require to do under the water framework directive. Achieving these goals and managing this diverse and dynamic sector requires a partnership between a number of particular important actors in the department, obviously local authorities, the group water sector and the EPA as the environmental regulator for the sector. The provision of water services is strategically planned to ensure the timing and scale of investment facilitates economic and other development. In excess of 5 billion in extractor resources have been spent on the provision of water services infrastructure from 2000 to 2010 and in 2011 the government has provided 435 million euro in extractor contributions to the programme and you'll hear in the next few days on which money we have for 2012. I would say that the government has is keen and is aware of the importance of our water services programme and the importance of it in terms of the issues I've just mentioned. Funding the operational costs of water services is a significant demand in local authorities. We're not in a position now to have the type of money that we would like to have in order to at public level for the purpose of delivering on our water services programme so we have to find a new model, new opportunity in order to leverage money from the private sector or from other sources. Because of operational costs now in 2010, 750 million euro, often taken for granted and the programme for government provides for some significant reforms in the semi-state sector through the recently established new era and the restructuring of the water services is a very important aspect to this initiative. The new era is the vehicle for reforming the manner in which government manages its shareholding in certain semi-state companies including reviewing capital programmes from a shareholder perspective and these reform measures are central elements of our plans for job creation and maximise investment to support economic recovery. Now we've, the EUIMF agreement obliges Ireland to do an independent assessment of what's the structure, operation and delivery of our water services into the future. I've just received that particular assessment and have been going through it and we are going to be establishing a new utility and the question that we have to decide whether you have a new company for that purpose or whether you use existing structures in the semi-state or otherwise in order to deliver an entity called Irish Water. So PricewaterhouseCoopers did this independent assessment and the purpose was to examine the existing organisational arrangements and to look at the best assignment of water functions for the future and the assessment is taking account of the lessons that we learned from relevant international organisational models, I'm sure you'll discuss them today, as well as benchmarking some Irish performance data with the experience and other jurisdictions. The Royal PwC were also part as to consider the potential forms of company formation that I've just mentioned. Many of you might have read media reports this weekend about the study. I can confirm that PwC have given me the report, they haven't given me the final report so over the next few weeks we will be getting more data from them and finalising matters in relation to the structure, function, operation and all of the matters that go with delivering our water services programme in a new way. It's a very big decision and certainly we have, as I mentioned earlier, need to get it right. Obviously there will be principles that we will do, you won't need to deliver whatever public services we have known most effectively and efficiently, while at the same time valuing existing experience and as I mentioned it is critical that any new organisational arrangements must harness the expertise and knowledge of the water services provision which has built up in the local authorities over the years. So we have to ensure that the expertise and knowledge is deployed strategically and efficiently to meet the significant challenges of the sector. Compliance requirements remain a priority and the requirements of the water framework directive on drinking water and wastewater regulations must be met and will require continued levels of investment. The first set of river based management plans required under the directive was completed in 2010 and identified significant additional investment in wastewater infrastructure to address water quality issues and catchments and protect drinking water resources. These additional investments were included in the Water Services Program 2010-2012. Unaccounted for water is a huge issue. In some parts of the country, in particular some parts, we have a water averaging problem in terms of unaccounted for water 41%. That's not sustainable. And tackling on economic levels of leakage will therefore continue to require prioritisation. 130 million we're spending this year in order to deal with our National Water Conservation Program. The Water Services Program 2010 envisages that contracts to the value of over 300 million we'll commence during the program period with the emphasis now on rehabilitation of the defect of water mains. There are other significant challenges as well. Dealing with the environmental sustainability issues are also a priority. Our water infrastructure will need ongoing maintenance and upgrading to ensure the integrity of the infrastructure. An increased investment in new treatment plans for drinking water and wastewater combined with rising energy costs and more stringent environment standards and operational costs all means more money. And so, therefore, the present funding model for water services includes three main sources of revenue at the moment, the extractor, the local authority's own resources and income from charging, the non-domestic sector. So we're going to find money elsewhere. We're going to charge by water meter from 2014. We're going to take account of the fact that we will have a new model that may be able to attract in private finance. But there's no getting away from the fact that we need other places to get money because we don't have it in the public capital program or unlikely to have it in the next couple of years. But a well-structured and a regulated organisation model has the capacity to leverage this type of investment and to access funds and to ensure a financially sustainable sector. Water charges will be a fundamental feature of the income stream for that investment for people that want to get involved. Currently Ireland is the only country in the OECD that doesn't charge for water, particularly for domestic householders. And the OECD have also concluded that measuring is unequivocally the fairest way to charge for domestic water usage and it incentivises householders to use water sparing them. I believe that the water charges will can reduce consumption by 20 per cent. But also if we get this right in relation to where we put the water meter, we put it reduced in half a litre. So the government recognises that the introduction of a fair funding model to deliver clean and reliable water is critical to the future economic growth and recovery of our country. The reforms that I've just spoken about and that we're planning far is an indication of our thinking. Independent economic regulation also is going to be a key element of an institutional separation and it also fulfils an important role in the protection of consumer interests. It aims to ensure that investments and prices proposed by regulated water authorities are transparent and consistent with providing efficient service delivery and expenditure. Regulation will therefore ensure that the price paid by consumers is fair and set at the appropriate level to recover the costs of providing the water service. Economic regulation of the water sector will also be a key requirement in order to allow Irish water to raise finance from the markets. It will provide consumers with the reassurance that the charges that are paying are fair and that the services that are getting are delivered efficiently. So Chairman, I want to conclude by thanking people for being here so early this morning for to get this seminar, a very important seminar going. I want to assure you that your knowledge and experience is welcome to the department and come into conclusions about this important matter in terms of the agenda items I've just outlined and I will be looking forward just to Chairman to hearing the result of your deliberations in the next few days. Thank you very much.