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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF Ervia, Michael McNicholas has defended Irish Water’s €70 million spend on consultants, insisting they were “international experts”.
Speaking before the Oireachtas Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services, he said there is “a perception out there” that money was squandered on consultants, adding: “That is absolutely not the case.”
McNicholas said the “international experts” were integral to the establishment of Irish Water. The Ervia boss said the money was spent on software and computer system experts needed to set up the national utility.
He said the setup of Irish Water cost €100 million less than any other utility in other countries.
No one has done this.
So no, we did not waste €70 million on consultants.
In 2014, there was public outcry when it was revealed how much was being paid on consultants.
In its written submission to the Environment committee at the time, it was disclosed that computer giant IBM would receive €44.8 million, Accenture would get €17.2 million, Ernst & Young would received €4.6 million and KPMG would get €2.2 million.
Another €13.3 million went to 18 other contractors who were procured “to support the work” of the major providers.
Nearly €4 million was spent on the procurement of legal services with €970,000 being spent with McCann Fitzgerald and €2.9 million with A&L Goodbody.
“We delivered at the end of the day a national utility that is a national asset,” said McNicholas.
Cost of sending bills
The committee also heard that Irish Water spends €25 million a year on billing.
Irish Water spends €25 million on the process of sending the bills, while €13 million is spent on the contact centre. €2 million is spent on staff costs.
Energy Commissioner Paul McGowan told the committee yesterday that he did not “boldly state water metering should be abandoned” in its submission to the committee.
McGowan said the metering project should be “parked” for the time being, as their were other capital projects Irish Water should prioritise.
Irish Water said there was a lot of work needed to improve Ireland’s water infrastructure.
McNicholas said it wanted to get rid of all the cast iron and asbestos pipes, as well as deal with the sewers that have been in place since the 19th Century, which he claims are ready to collapse.
The committee was told wastewater treatment plants are under immense pressure, resulting in raw sewage being pumped into the water in 44 locations.
Read: Regulator denies saying water metering programme should be abandoned>Read: Water meters are not the new e-voting machines – they cost us a lot more>
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They’ve known this for years but still have done nothing about it. Forward thinking and Irish Government don’t go together in a sentence.
@Ciaran Farrelly: they don’t shine at any kind of thinking really
What about using windfall money to invest in infrastructure like our decrepit water pipes?
@Phil O’ Meara:
or housing;
or roads;
or schools;
or hospitals;
or trains;
or giant printers!!
Why has the journal not reported any of the recent good news on the economic front? Lower unemployment again, higher tax receipts, evidence that one of the multinationals based her pays more than the headline 12.5% rate?
If you only read the Journal you’d swear that the country is struggling while in fact it’s booming!
@joe:
But you can’t complain if booming is about!
@joe: booming fot the few..
@joe: that wouldn’t fit with the Left Wing bias.
@joe: less people on the dole can easily be made to look well when you see people being dumped into the likes of seetec or tus, and the fact is the higher tax receipts are coming from people already over stretched with crappy pay packets and stealth tax after stealth tax……you might want everyone to be all happy because in your eyes its a wonderful time, but sadly for lots of people there is no recovery and most are barely keeping their heads above water
@Michael Patrick Newell: Well you have that because one million people in Ireland pay little or no tax at all.
@Michael Patrick Newell: look around you and open your eyes. There are jobs for anyone who wants them. You have to start somewhere, start in a low level job and work your way up.
The prospects that come from having a job are much greater than those that come from not having one.
Life is what you make it!
@joe: its a false economy.
More in work than a few years ago but also more shitty jobs. Far less permanent jobs, lower real wages. Unaffordable rent.
When a person earning an average wage hasn’t a hope of buying a house the society is in serious trouble.
The rich poor divide is growing rapidly we are heading towards having a lower income tier of society who can never own property with a very small proportion owning everything….
sound familiar? Is should because we have had it here before with the landed gentry. We are heading for a return to feudal times with pesants and elite.
@joe: What is booming Joe ? does that mean theres a bust coming too..
Its Booming for bankers and Property Owners .. while people with even decent jobs struggle to pay rent
@joe: Yeah, all those cribbing and moaning should “commit suicide”.
@Gowon Geter: there’s always a busy coming. It’s just a question of when! That’s how economics works!
@Gowon Geter: tourism, restaurants, bars, tech, construction. A knock on from that is a load of support jobs in the wider services sector.
@joe: Ok Joe. You get a job in the service sector, then try to afford rent (haha), health insurance (because wouldn’t want to wait a week on a trolley or a year for a scan), groceries, utilities, you’ll probably need a car because good luck finding suitable accommodation within walking distance from your wonderful new job and public transport is just not a viable option in many places so then there’s motor tax, car insurance, petrol, (a carbon tax coming down the tracks, and if you own a laptop, phone or TV you’ll probably be hit for a TV licence eventually too), oh and also try to save for a mortgage that you’ll never qualify for on your salary from this wonderful job but don’t worry, as you put it it’s all about work ethic and Ireland is a bountiful land of plenty for those who don’t want to just sit on their ass on the dole, why, work your way up in that job and in maybe 10-15 years you won’t be in the red every month. Hurrah. Seriously, have you actually been paying attention to the state of this country and challenges workers face, how expensive it is just to live here? or are you in some sort of little wealthy bubble where none of this affects you so you look down at the great unwashed and assume they must not be as smart or talented as you are, sure why else would they be struggling?
When the shinners get into power they will bring in a sustainable corporation tax policy that will cover everything…. bring forth the shinners
@Tony Henry: tell you what muppet, look around the country its in a terrible mess, and guess what it’s not SF in government!!
@Tony Henry: well they cant be any worse than the role over for a brown envelope or cushy job FFG circus act who would rather pucker up to large corporations and then expect the joe soap tax payer or irish business to pick up the tab……bring fourth the clowns of the FFG clown college
@rumug: don’t SF have majorities on councils?
@milton friedman: here and there they are. What’s your point? County councils have little to no power.
The first paragraph says it all about this Government, “reliance on using corporate tax receipts to plug spending overruns”
Why is there so many spending overruns is the first place. Tax payers money been wasted every day while so many worthy causes are crying out for extra funding. Disgraceful
The people’s money trough can add more and more tax under FFG rule…
@Willy Mc Bride: What?
We’re a high cost economy that can’t afford itself anymore they should of let the troika sort out the place before the kicked them out ,
Possibly but, when all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.
Strange I didn’t hear a peep from the IFAC when the government were signing off on the dodgiest of dodgy deals in relation to the 3 billion euro broadband. Cos if they think that made any economic sense given how its been done and where it will be sold to after, then these lot really aren’t good with numbers. Don’t worry lads in order to avoid the multinationals from ever paying the full amount they are meant to, we will just lump another tax on the irish and label it something to do with the climate or health, that usually works and gets a nice juicy tax robbery i mean take
Same old story the have and the have nots , the poor are been forced to pay even if it leaves them hungry as the rich continue to feed their bank accounts .
It’s cool, we have an entire population of idiots who will continued to vote FFG and pay a whole battery of new income taxes, stealth taxes, property, water, carbon taxes, air, death etc so that the poor, struggling mega-corporations aren’t out of pocket.
have your say