Irish Water has announced the creation of 1,600 jobs as part of its nationwide metering programme. The jobs will be available across the country and recruitment begins immediately.
In addition, Irish Water has announced details of its water meter rollout programme which starts next week and continues to the end of 2016. Over 1 million water meters will be installed outside domestic residences on the public water mains. In the first three months, water meters will be installed in Kildare, moving swiftly to Kerry, Meath, Wexford, Dublin City, Limerick, Mayo and Fingal.
An average of 27,000 water meters will be installed each month making it the most ambitious metering programme by international standards.
John Tierney Managing Director, Irish Water said, “The creation of 1,600 jobs across the country is another milestone announcement for Irish Water and we are committed to allocating 25% of roles involved in installations to small businesses, people on the live register, graduates and school leavers. Recruitment of senior management roles within Irish Water is ongoing. Our call centre located in Cork is now up and running to provide support for our customers and our website www.water.ie is live from today.
“We are now also ready to start one of the most ambitious metering programmes ever undertaken. Creating a national water utility is one of the biggest tasks ever carried out in the semi state sector. Our primary focus is to deliver enhanced water services in partnership with the local authorities, communities and businesses. We will develop an efficient and effective organisation that becomes a centre of excellence for water services, delivers economies of scale and reduced operating costs over the long term,” he continued.
There are no upfront costs for meters and water charges are due to be introduced in Q4 2014 with first bills issuing from January 2015. Advance notification will be issued to householders before meters are installed with information packs outlining the details of the installation process.
Recruitment for the metering programme starts immediately. Further information about the roles and how to apply is available on www.water.ie.