Department splashed out extra €5.7m for Irish Water

Embattled Environment Minster Phil Hogan’s department splashed out €5.7m more than budgeted for on its share of setting up Irish Water, figures reveal.

The department had planned to pump €10m into the controversial project, but this surged to €15.7m, the Oireachtas environment committee was told.

The revelation of the extra cost provoked renewed opposition criticism of the handling of start-up costs for the utility, which come to €180m in total. There was uproar when it emerged €86m of that was going on outside consultants.

Mr Hogan insisted he could not “micro manage” the new company and was not aware of the money going to consultants. However, opposition TDs said he had no such excuse regarding monies provided by his own department for the project.

Members of the environment committee said the overspend of more than 50% was indicative of the Government’s failure to protect the interests of taxpayers.

About €5.75m went on setting up the Water Services Transition Office which saw city and county councils move key matters over to Irish Water. The Public Accounts Committee chairman, John McGuinness, has now asked Mr Hogan’s department to explain how this money was spent.

Earlier, Mr Hogan said his consent as well as that of the energy, finance, and public reform ministers was required to allow Irish Water to enter into a loan from the pensions reserve fund, following questioning at the committee as to whether there was Cabinet approval for a €500m loan from the fund.

The Commission for Energy Regulation, to assist with regulation, received €760,221, and €353,008 was spent on mapping by Ordinance Survey Ireland. A metering pilot project by the water giant cost €570,807, while €27,060 went to Mazars Consultancy for the recoupment of costs taken by trade unions when working practices for local authority members were negotiated.

A water study by PricewaterhouseCoopers came with a charge of €179,584, and an ESRI study on affordability cost €55,726.

The biggest part of the money, €6.7m, went on the metering programme, while project management costs for Bord Gáis came in at €628,107.

New workers in the Environment Department caused expenditure of €321,137, as €328,252 went on engineering services for the department.