Think of the fevered world of start-ups and it’s unlikely a public utility comes to mind. A late arrival in terms of Irish semi-state organisations, Irish Water (since 2022, Uisce Éireann) found itself in just such territory when it was established in 2013.
Embedded in a role previously carved up between the country’s 30-plus local authorities, the new arrival gradually acquired its mandate – management of the country’s public water and wastewater services – and set out an extensive agenda for modernisation. Key water infrastructure in our towns and cities often dates to the Victorian era, making water leakage a serious problem: 46% of treated drinking water was lost through leaks in 2018, but this has since reduced to 37% and Uisce Eirean is on track to hit 25% by 2030.
‘There’s been a water sector in Ireland for 300 years’
Turbulent beginnings
As befits a start-up, there was turbulence in the beginning, when plans for domestic water charges became a major bone of public contention. Today, with a funding model based on Exchequer and commercial income, Colm D’Arcy FCCA, head of revenue and financial operations, says the focus is firmly on the future.
The integration of local authority personnel and the streamlining of water and wastewater teams represent some of the latest HR developments strengthening the organisation. Uisce Éireann has capital expenditure of more than €10bn planned between now and 2029.
Irish water by numbers
133
Average personal daily water usage in litres
1,700
Number of water and wastewater treatment plants operated by Uisce Éireann
10,000
Litres of water a dripping tap can lose in a year
90,000
Kilometres of public water pipe system in Ireland
‘We’re the body that’s responsible for the delivery of safe, secure and sustainable water services for the people of Ireland. We’re also responsible for protecting and respecting water as a resource,’ D’Arcy says.
‘However, it’s important to say we are still in our infancy as an organisation. There’s been a water sector in Ireland for 300 years. Uisce Éireann has been working with our local authority partners and our broader stakeholders for 12 years.’
Can-do attitude
While there can be no doubt about the scale of the issues – last year, the company said that at least €60bn in investment is needed to meet ‘known risks’ to water infrastructure up to 2050 – that sense of challenge is matched by a positive, can-do attitude within the organisation, D’Arcy says.
‘We see ourselves as part of the solution. Investment needs to be broad to meet demands around new housing and connectivity, but it’s also got to be strategic. It’s important delivery is targeted to the right places. There is a lot of great work going on here in terms of those requirements.’
‘Finance is a career that readily attracts men and women in equal measures’
Commitments to inclusivity also run deep within the organisation, with a women’s network, a rainbow network and an ethnicity network, along with a family network and an ability network, just some examples of the progressive spirit at play. ‘I’m actually part of the women’s network, as an ally for women in the organisation,’ D’Arcy says. ‘Fortunately, finance is a career that readily attracts men and women in equal measures, and we see the dividends of that.’
As a utility, it’s a fact of life that you mainly come to people’s attention when something goes awry. ‘We pay close attention to measuring our reputation. Our customer-first programmes are focused on increasing satisfaction with the public,’ D’Arcy says.
Improving lines of communications have been an important part of this. Last year, a text-alert service to provide updates and information to all Uisce Éireann customers was launched; previously, only vulnerable customers could avail of the service.
New beginnings
Joining the organisation in 2013, at the set-up stage, was all part of the plan for D’Arcy, whose corporate career had developed successfully from similar beginnings a number of years earlier.
‘I had been based in London and was working successfully in practice for a number of years when I saw Hertz was setting up its shared services centre in Swords,’ he recalls. Seizing the opportunity to return to his native city, he quickly progressed through the ranks at the car rental giant, rising to the role of finance director in a team that, at its peak, boasted some 350 personnel.
‘You don’t have to work on motivation. It’s there in the room’
By the start of the last decade, restructuring had changed the nature of the operation and D’Arcy was seeking new opportunities. He was explicit with recruiters, however, that a start-up was where his interests lay.
‘It’s about the energy, the vibrancy and the fun,’ he says. ‘When you’re building an organisation, you’re bringing in qualified, capable people. You don’t have to work on motivation. It’s there in the room. There are no walls between departments. Nobody is saying “That’s not my job”. It’s a great time for learning and to be leading.’
CV
2022
Appointed head of revenue and financial operations, Uisce Éireann
2013
Joins then Irish Water as accounting and reporting manager
2006
Joins Hertz Europe as financial controller, rising to role of director of financial operations
1993
Becomes a member of ACCA
As Uisce Éireann has grown, keeping that sense of vibrancy hasn’t been difficult, he adds. ‘Nothing has stood still and it doesn’t feel like a decade has gone by. My approach is still to avoid silos, to keep those walls from creeping up, as much as we can.’
Solid start
After leaving school in the 1980s, D’Arcy completed the accounting technician course before a summer in London would stretch into the best part of a decade.
ACCA made the most sense as he looked around for a qualification. ‘It allowed me to work in practice, but with the option to go into industry,’ he says. ‘For anybody starting a career in accountancy, that is a great position to be in.’
A founder member of ACCA Ireland’s successful shared services initiative in the noughties, D’Arcy recently found himself back in touch with the organisation as the finance team in Uisce Éireann geared up its graduate programme.
‘I would say 100% of our graduates are now on the path to ACCA’
‘I would say 100% of our graduates are now on the path to ACCA,’ he says. ‘That’s partly because ACCA is great to work with but it’s also because the subjects are dynamic and relevant. We are also fortunate in the calibre of our graduates. They are articulate, hard-working and informed – great ambassadors for Uisce Éireann and ACCA’.
As funding demands ratchet up, and pressure mounts on our creaking water system, D’Arcy is excited by the role the finance team will play in shaping the future of our most fundamental, if sometimes misunderstood, infrastructure.
‘Water is now managed by a single public utility that’s focused on transformational change – whether that means safeguarding public health, protecting the environment, or support our country’s sustainable growth and development.
‘Funding for that change can’t be switched on and off. It’s got to be steady and directed. I’m delighted to be working in an organisation where everyone’s only real objective is to do the right thing, every time.’
