The CEO of Irish Water has defended the company's spending on outside consultants.
John Tierney says outside help was needed to make sure Irish Water was capable of delivering a national water system.
He said the company's staff "deserved great credit" for the work they had done to meet a demanding schedule set by the government.
However, he has admitted that he never discussed the agency's budget with ministers Phil Hogan and Fergus O'Dowd - because the budget was agreed before he was appointed to the company in January 2013.
But he says the government was aware of how much outside assistance Irish Water would need:
