Water contract up for grabs

ONE MORE THING:WHILE THE FOCUS recently has been on the State companies that the Government is planning on selling, work is continuing on creating a new one, Irish Water, which will be responsible for managing our water supplies.

A PricewaterhouseCoopers report recommended that water management be entrusted to a State organisation rather than a private company and the Government has made it clear that this is the option it prefers.

Two options appear to be on the table – giving the responsibility to an existing State company or creating a new one – the “greenfield” option.

Both Bord Gáis Networks and Bord na Móna have expressed their interest to the Government and New Era in taking on the Irish Water job. Bord Gáis argues that it has a proven track record as a utility. Bord na Móna has a similar pitch, but has also been working on plans to pump excess water from the Shannon to a reservoir in Co Offaly.

While Government sources say that a decision is some way off, the tide currently appears to be flowing in Bord na Móna’s favour.