 Thank you very much Chairman. Can I say first of all I'm delighted to be here and to say that I'm the second member of my family who's been in this hollowed venue. My brother Nino Dodd spoke some years ago here, I remember Brendan a very interesting debate on peace in our country and the involvement and the importance of the American influence on that on that issue. So I'm here today just as you said Chairman that I have I'm in two different departments just to briefly tell you what I actually do. I'm in the Department of the Environment where I work with Minister Phil Hogan who's the senior minister there and I have specifically working on this water policy on all aspects of it. So it's a very involved and a very detailed involvement I have as Minister Hogan has in all aspects of the Department and secondly in the Department of Communications where the senior minister is Minister Pat Rabbit. I'm dealing there with natural resources with oil and gas with issues like fracking and also with inland fisheries Ireland so a very busy portfolio and this indeed is a very very important topic. Now I know some of you here today I don't know many of you I see for the first time I'm sure you see me so I have a speech here which the Department prepared for me but I'm happy to go off script and to answer any questions at any time because I think the message I'm trying to get across here today and I know it's the message that you Chairman I want everybody to understand is exactly how we put water right at the very heart of our policy thinking, how it shapes the future of our country, how it deals with the needs of our communities as people live, how it deals with water shortages in the future and particularly the focus on employment and where we think we see things going. Along with that there's a parallel process which as a politician I think is incredibly important and it's actually to serve to the people of this country the truth about water why we have to charge for it why it's so important that we do how we can get our economy moving again by by what we're doing and I suppose it's a political message which is based upon what's in our program for government and if I just read that to you because this is what our policy is actually based on. To achieve better quality water and environment we will introduce a fair funding model to deliver clean and reliable water. We will first establish a new state owned water utility company to take over responsibility for the separate local authorities for Ireland's water infrastructure and to drive new investment. The objective is to install water meters in every household in Ireland and move to a charging system that is based on use above the free allowance. So that's the task that we have and as you can imagine it's very challenging in many respects and I suppose the report card would say that since we came into government we've done quite a lot. The first job I had to do was to make sure that the entity called New Era was actually established and we did that in very quick time and that in Fitzpatrick is now the chief executive of New Era and shortly in the government legislative program we'll be introducing legislation to establish New Era on a statutory basis and also dealing with Irish water. One of the first things we did was to make a definite decision and I think this is important because a lot of people say to me that the Irish water industry as it is will remain in public ownership that there's no question ever of the privatisation of Irish water. So what we looked at were the possibilities of existing state agencies supplying that service to the public and by a process we interviewed through the department officials and other people, Borgash and Bordenamon, that competed for that project and based on recommendations Borgash now are responsible or will be responsible. The legislation is coming in this week, the water services bill which will establish Irish water or Ischka on a statutory basis. So I think that's terribly important because we'll now be moving to a legal framework within which Irish water will be able to operate and will be able to do the work that has been set out for them to do and I suppose the issue there is one of the biggest issues one of the biggest challenges is that presently in the water infrastructure in the public sector I think we have something like over 4,000 people who were actually employed or 4,000 people working in the Irish water infrastructure throughout the country but when you think about it that's an awful lot of people with an awful lot of knowledge with an awful lot of corporate memory with a lifetime commitment as many of them have given to improving the water infrastructure and I suppose you spoke about engineers and I have another brother who happens to be an engineer and engineers always know everything as we always know and they're never never wrong and they never are of course but I think that one of the people that impresses me most is when I went down to South Tipperary and I went up to look at a small water scheme up up the top of a mountain basically and I met the caretaker who had worked for 20-30 years working there and he had a lifetime commitment to his work every day and every night he you know he was on duty for seven days or whatever and I just want to express here in this forum to acknowledge absolutely the commitment of all of those workers and particularly the caretakers and the plumbers and the general workers who in local government give a fantastic commitment and I suppose the measure of that was to think about two Christmases ago when we had a very serious problem because of a very very cold winter around Christmas you may or may not remember it but in the south of Ireland in the south we dealt with all of those and we know that the water infrastructure which was in Northern Ireland actually effectively collapsed over that period of time and the chief executive lost his position so I just want to acknowledge absolutely the commitment the dedication the tremendous work that is done in local authorities and will continue to be done as well and that's the second part of the message that that that this is not this is not you know something when it has legal and statutory basis it's not just going to take over everything tomorrow and that's it it's a process of change it's so important that we get it right and right at the very heart of that is working with local authorities and I think that's a very important message to get out I think that there will be service level agreements which are in discussion between the department and local authorities right around the country and those service level agreements will give a continuing role to local authority workers involved in water infrastructure with a direct relationship with Irish water and that will obviously be phased out over a period of time but clearly it is very important that this work is progressing and progressing well and one of the benchmarks that there is in the process that has taken place and this is due in no small respect to the input from the department and the county managers and the trade unions is that that we have a forum should there ever be a dispute as to you procedures and how things should go ahead that that we have an independent chairman who will deal with any of those issues if and when they arise so I want to reassure everybody here today that the progress we're making is real it's tangible it's it's paced it's it's accountable it's transparent and it's also taking a board and building on I want to keep this is very important building on the tremendous work that is presently being done by all of those people I spoke about so in what way will Irish water be different well I suppose those of you that would that are in business and all you have to do is look at a recent report from the department of the environment in relation to the cost of water to industry and you could look at two counties if you look at Kildare and if you look at Wicklow the cost per meter cube of water delivered in Kildare is half the cost of that delivered in Wicklow now there are very good reasons for that because of the the geography the topography the fact that you have disparate water supplies and Wicklow whereas it's it's entirely different in county Kildare but what's very important is that industries in Kildare and Wicklow and everywhere else in this country that there should be one charge no matter where you are for your water and whatever house you live in wherever that is when you're paying for your water then there should be uniform charge for everybody so I think that's one of the things that the Irish water will be able to give as one water body that they will bring all of that into play and clearly I know the regulators may be here today that they will have a very important job in dealing with that and ensuring that there's fairness and there's equity in the charges and so on so it's quite a big task that lies ahead so we want to make sure that there's certainty and the other issue about the certainty for industry and I make this point because Dublin City Council have had I want to say a tremendous work done on examining the future of the water needs of the GDA the Greater Dublin area and I'm sure most of you are familiar with that report and the concepts therein that we have I think that I think the year is about 2020 or 2022 thereabouts we will have in the Greater Dublin area unless we can significantly augment the water supply we will have a significant shortage of water that the that the output of water that that that can come through the existing water services will be equal to demand and if there's if and when and our economy does recover we'll have to ensure that we have the capacity to deliver more water to this region and so what we're doing there as I'm sure is familiar to a lot of people is we're going to pump water which haven't got through a due and accountable planning process from the River Shannon up to up to the middle of the country supplying disparate and other communities on the way and in a place called Gary Hinch and I'm very proud to have been there with Borden Moana looked at the fantastic proposals that there are for the Gary sorry for the Gary Hinch reservoir which would be one of the biggest water reservoirs it'd be the biggest one in Ireland one of the biggest I think it's about 1,200 hectares of water which we will store and then pump it forward into the city and one of the big pluses for the midlands in this proposal and obviously with under the due planning process and I want to say that that you know that there is an ongoing consultation with communities in that area and I've met with the people myself and I'm very happy to continue to meet with them because what we will have to have is a partnership between everybody is that we will have in the midlands in Gary Hinch we'll have one of the while we'll have a massive new water resource for the Greater Dublin area and the Giant Counties we'll also have one of the one of it'll be a fantastic recreation and amenity project for the midlands and I've been in the United Kingdom and I've looked at you know such an equivalent type park and in one of them that I went to in Anglia Water they have over a million visitors per annum to this massive water resource and it's absolutely fantastic to see the hotels to see the recreation and amenity that's there so I think tied into this significant advance in meeting the water requirements of the Greater Dublin area will be a very significant improvement obviously in water and the towns on the way and also would be very important I think a really centre a national centre for recreation and amenity which will not conflict with the recreation and amenity that are presently enjoyed on the Shannon and that's an issue we'd be dealing with as well right so you have Irish water you have the relationship with the local authorities and then you have the actual structure of the company itself and its accountability now we will be doing two pieces of legislation the first bit here is going through the Shannon I'm sure you're all familiar with it is a pretty short bill is dealing with a setting up of the company itself and at later stages then it will be supported you know what the accountability of that company will be to the rockers as a commercial semi-state obviously it will have to reserve to reserve you know certain significant powers in terms of administration but it will be it will be subject to directions written directions from the minister of the day so we will have to make sure that the company can deal with the business issues that it will be accountable to the rockers the annual report will be laid before the doll it will be accountable before rockers committees and one and I'm addressing a wider audience that isn't here obviously right now is that one of the big things about public representation is the is the accountability of local government to elected representatives in the context of proposals in relation to water infrastructure and what's going to be terribly important in relation to this is to get the very important balance right between future planning needs in other words a city a town a county wants to develop in a particular way like there has to be a proper relationship between national water policy and regional policy and how those towns cities or communities will develop so that you've joined up thinking between the demands the demands of planning the planning process and the reality of what's available on the ground so I think that that's a very important issue there and I think also is the accountability that if if councillor is a much maligned group of people as I'm sure you can imagine when when they find that there is a problem with water infrastructure in their area at the moment they ring the county engineer or the guide that's accountable and he will say right we'll we'll get somebody there and we'll do this that on the other and we want to ensure that that accountability is there not just to the elected representatives which will have to be to and I want to stress that point that elected representatives will be able and will have full access you know to accountability locally but also members of the public that you Johnny Murphy or Mary McGuire whoever you are that if you have a problem with water that you will be that the company will be accountable to you that you know that it won't be this this amorphous mass somewhere in Dublin or Cork or wherever it ends up but that that they will be accountable to you and and that's very very important the relationship between Irish water and the consumer is absolutely critical and I know that plans are at an advanced stage already for a call centre which I think is expected to imply um I think it's probably three to four hundred people so that Irish water will be accountable to consumers will be accountable you know to business or private enterprise and so on so that so I think that's very important as well and further to that too I think that is important that we have to get the relationship right because water is such a critical issue and so important we have to have the relationship right between the problems that will that will arise and accountability to the iraq this and I think you know the committee system is is very good at that but I want to be happy I want to be happy that it is entirely accountable you know for major policy decisions but at the same time it's free to do and to go about its business in in in in the commercial world um so I think that there are some of the issues that I think are important the other issue I think which is incredibly important and I've spoken to Borgar about this is is actually selling the message out there now I haven't mentioned the uimf up to this moment in time and I mentioned it in in this respect clearly these reforms are taken place at this time the agreement that was signed with the previous government this is an essential and absolutely critical part of it that there has to be charges for water now and that is what has to happen and that that is what we have to do but I think that what's well no doubt that is that has to happen but to have to carry out these reforms anyway I believe is essential you know we need to do this anyway we need to do this to protect the environment we need to do this to ensure that that the future industrial needs of the greater Dublin area and everywhere else are met we need to have this reform there we need to have the changes we need to have new synergies well we need to we need to make it more efficient and more effective in terms of our overall costings the facts are that 1.2 billion is what we spend on the water infrastructure every year 1.2 billion what we actually take in in terms of in terms of charges at the moment is somewhere around 200 million now that's a massive gap that has to be met and clearly the company Irish Water as and when the charging system changes it will have to be fair it'll have to be equitable it'll have to be seen to be fair to everybody and think that's a core part of what we're doing and there has to be transparency about the charging there has to be accountability in the Eroctus to that and I know that the CEO who would be the regulator they are already accountable to the Eroctus anyway but I think as we go into this over the next couple of years you know the message from me is is that we have to understand you know what the problems are for people out there we have to meet their needs but we have to sell the message now one of the most important things to me is the question of education information getting it out there and I have referred a number of times to the actual program in the past in relation to race against race which was so successfully managed by the Department of the Environment and we are going to have a like program in terms of public information and knowledge so that people no matter where there are in this country will understand why it's happening why it is good for all of us that it does and that it seems you know that it makes sense to everybody that they can buy into this in these very difficult times and I spoke to a teacher you know these education teacher centers I was speaking there some months ago to the head of the teacher center in in black rock and I said you know I said we really need to address this issue holistically in a much deeper way and he said to me you know what we should be doing and what we'll have to look at is in our primary schools if I'm going on too long just stop me chairman if I you know I I probably go out of my hobby horse as I say but what's very important is that is that children and young people get the message now because of all it's very hard to get changed in any society but as in the race against waste as in things like separate and different like smoking in all of those when you sell the message to young people when they understand it and believe it and it's real and it's true and it's not dressed up in anything that isn't factual and correct then you win the battle and the battle here is for the hearts and minds I believe of the people of this country this is what we have to sell them they have to buy into it they have to understand it we have to explain it and I think one of the key ways for me and I haven't progressed just any further than just talking to that gentleman was we need a proper water policy in our education system as well we need to get the message out there and obviously it'll be holistic it can go into all of the issues that you raised here about climate change and so on but I think that's a core part of how we have to change and that's something that I'm committed to as well so I think I think the question then you know that the accountability cost effectiveness cost effectiveness and efficiency are very important you spoke chairman about the cost of the barrel of water I think what was it 85 dollars very five euros sorry excuse me 85 euros yeah okay well I mean the cost of water that we supply I think we worked it out per meter cubed on average is about what it's about 252 an average is what we charge for water and you wouldn't get one bottle of barley gown for that in a in a pub in Dublin would you so we we're given very very good value for money there but I think what we need to see is the waste of water in our society I know probably people here from local government I think to figure nationally of what we call unaccounted for water that is water that we treat that we pump that we store that we put in the pipes and it goes absolutely nowhere into the ground unaccounted for is over 44 percent that's a massive that's a massive amount of investment that is absolutely wasted and hand in hand with the process of of of water metering which is coming in must be and will be accountability in reducing that wastage of water now there's a table of counties I won't go into them all you can look them up yourself some of them are as high as over some of them are higher than 60 percent some counties in this country the amount of unaccounted for water is over 60 percent now Dublin is very very good in terms of the national figure I think we're under 23 24 percent and if it's still an awful lot of water wasted but it's an international an international average is it's it's not bad but so we really have to tackle that and for the consumer out there who's going to pay for this water they're entitled to know and to ask what are you doing about the waste what is it going to stop how are we going to do that and that's part of the buy-in to the process is that the investment program the investment program which I think we believe should be somewhere around 600 million per annum is a figure that we have that's what we should be putting into a water infrastructure that's what it's for that's what it's for is to make it better it's to you know it's to do a proper job and those of you that have traveled as I'm sure you all have when you go to places you know when you when you go to places like Korea right what's I know it's a different country obviously South Korea want to count for water something like three or four percent it's unbelievable and that's real of course they went in and they re-bored all the piping and all of that so like you know we've got a big task here we've got to sell it and I think if we sell it right if we get the messages right people will buy into it and they will pay for it they will pay for it if they believe it's fair and it's accountable and so I think that so I think the other point is and I'd probably stop now if I'm happy to take take questions or whatever way and one of the other one of the other big issues is is you know basically when you say that that you know that that the charge is when we fix the water will our costs go down well it will mean if we reduce overall if we reduce the wastage it means then that we don't have to build as much new bits of infrastructure maybe down the road it means that you know we can go further with less because we're using every single drop I think as a senior board the policy is every drop use every single drop that's what we should be doing and I think one of the positive things about metering and there's a lot of people who would be very critical of it but when you talk to people from group water schemes right around the country and there's an example I think it's in the Kevin Monhan area I can chapter and verse we can get you but when they introduced water metering in their rural community now I want to stress obviously there was agriculture use as well they reduced overall consumption in excess of 70 percent in excess of 70 percent now I think the figure that I get from people that I talk to in terms of urban areas that that people will be able to reduce their use of water you know obviously for economic reasons but also for conservation reasons by at least 10 to 15 percent so there's big pluses in our society as we go down this route so I'm happy to I'm happy to take any questions I want to say finally that I'm very privileged to be here it's a major task we in government have in hand and I think by dealing with it in a fair accountable transparent way the issues about water and water infrastructure will be dealt with fairly openly transparently and accountably and I believe that Irish water and I want to congratulate Borgars for their excellent involvement commitment and absolute professionalism and all of this I think that they are the right and proper vehicle to do that I believe that that Borgars which is the major of the board as we call it in legislation it has a very very very fantastic record really in relation to working with with ordinary people fixing issues being accountable being available and I think that's very important for us so I suppose the last thing I'd say before I sit down is that I was in Toronto there some time ago and we were looking at water infrastructure and issues over there and we're sitting in this this room talk around the table and I said well what's it like in Ireland anyway and you know what's your domestic charge for water and we said we don't have any and they laughed and then they said you know what's your household charge and I said we didn't have any either and I suppose at the heart of all of this in our country is that for so long for so long we didn't face the truth and the truth is to have a sustainable modern economy to have a real country that has sustainable base and tax and income now we're standing in the pain that there is there for people to do it we have to have household charges and we have to have we have to have charges for water now what that means then is that you have a sustained income you know for essential activities in our economy that will be there and that we won't be relying as we did for so long and so many years in the past which almost destroyed our country brought us to the brink of ruin you know on a housing boom that ended in in the bubble that that that bore so badly and so difficult for so many of our citizens so thank you very much for listening to I'll be happy to take any questions thank you