Minister seeks ‘people of calibre’ for new water board

Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly has asked for "people of calibre and experience" to apply for the positions on the new board to be established from the existing boards of Irish Water and its parent company Ervia.

Mr Kelly was speaking after a meeting with Irish Water managing director John Tierney yesterday, where the pair discussed the future of the semi-state company after months of controversy.

One of the first reforms will be the long-planned merging of the boards of Irish Water and Ervia, formerly called Bord Gáis, which is due to take place by the end of November.

The recruitment of directors will be subject to the new process announced by the Government in the wake of the controversy over the appointment of John McNulty to the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA).

“We need people for the new board and we need people who have experience in this area and anyone who feels that they have that, I would ask them to put their names forward through the new appointments process that has been announced in the last few weeks,” Mr Kelly said. “We need people of calibre of experience.”

Mr Kelly also said Irish Water needed to deal with its customers in a “fantastic way”. He also said he raised a number of issues with Mr Tierney but wouldn’t go into the detail of a “private meeting”.

“Irish Water needs to be a customer-facing company, it needs to deal with customers in a fantastic way to ensure that stakeholder management is a priority and organisationally, it needs to meet its targets. I’ve great confidence following on from the meeting that Irish Water will be in a position to do that.”

It is understood the discussions between the pair were “frank” and Mr Kelly emphasised the need for Irish Water to get its message out on local radio in particular.

He claimed the meeting is “going to shape the future of Irish Water in the years to come”, and said the issue of bonuses should be dealt with by the new, combined board of Irish Water and Ervia.

Mr Tierney said he is committed to seeing out his term at Irish Water, adding he had not been asked to step down.

He said his job is “one of the most difficult jobs anyone was ever asked to undertake”.

He said Mr Kelly asked for a “renewed emphasis” on customer relations.

When asked about bonuses in Irish Water, Mr Tierney replied: “My staff are doing a fantastic job. It is a humbling experience to see the work they are doing on behalf of the people.”