Updated 11.50
A senior official at Irish Water says there is no quick fix to the problem of leakages.
The State company says it plans to spend almost €1.8 billion over the next two years on infrastructure, the majority of this will go towards fixing leaking pipes.
Irish Water has also promised to lift all boil water notices by next year. Householders in some parts of the country have had to endure boil water notices for the past eight years.
Head of Asset Management for Irish Water Jerry Grant told Newstalk's Pat Kenny Show 41% of our water is lost through leaks, but just 5-6% of leaks are on the customer side:
Irish Water's figures at a glance
- The money will be spent on 386 infrastructure projects, between now and 2016
- 58,000 kms of water pipelines
- 35,000 waste water lines
- 1,027 separate public water supplies
- 1,069 separate waste water clusters of parts
Critical water quality projects in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, in Kerry and in the Burncourt/Fethard area of Co. Tipperary will also go ahead.
However, Irish Water admits it will need to borrow more than €500 million to carry out the work.
Environment minister Phil Hogan welcomed the proposals, "I have said time and time again that an investment in water services is an investment in jobs and this package will see up to 15,000 jobs sustained and created over the period of the programme. It will also assist in providing for much-needed serviced zoned land to assist in attracting businesses and the supply of much-needed housing in every country throughout the State."
Water charges
Mr Grant also said it is likely the Commission for Energy Regulation will benchmark what we pay for water charges against what consumers pay in the North.
The government announced last week that the average annual charge per household is expected to be around €240, but it's now up to the CER to set the tariff.
