140. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will outline in tabular form the total consultancy costs paid to date in the establishment and ongoing operations of Irish Water broken down by company; and the total estimated cost by 2015 and 2016. [28821/14]

I understand from Irish Water that some €64.6 million has been expended on external service providers in relation to the establishment of the company. Decisions on specific operational expenditure are a matter for the company and I have no role in that regard. However, costs incurred by Irish Water will be examined by the Commission for Energy Regulation as an integral element of the independent economic regulation of Irish Water.

Irish Water has confirmed to my Department that it has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. The team can be contacted via an email to oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on 1890 278 278.