Irish Water states set-up costs have been cut by €150m because of Bord Gáis expertise
Irish Water today told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht that the set up costs for the new utility will amount to €150m.
It says that Irish Water executives told the committee that the set-up costs for a new national utility reaching into and serving every home on the public water system were necessarily large, and so it was a priority to manage those costs.
“Between now and 2021, Irish Water will save the Exchequer over €2bn – which is a fraction of the set up costs,” said John Tierney, managing director of Irish Water. “The set up costs could have hit €250m. Instead, the bill is €150m, thanks to the Government decision to set up Irish Water within Bord Gáis and give us access to Bord Gáis’ expertise.”
According to the utility, it will pay IBM €44.8m, Accenture €17.2m, Ernst & Young €4.6m and KPMG €2.2m for specialist services.
Irish Water also said today that all contracts awarded by it and Bord Gáis in the establishment of the new utility are fully compliant with EU public sector procurement guidelines.
“Bord Gáis and Irish Water have been scrupulous in the awarding of contracts,” it said in a statement. “To ensure value for money and transparency, all contracts have been awarded in line with the guidelines set out at EU level for public sector procurement.”