Mr. Aurel Ciobanu-Dordea:

I thank the Chairman. Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, distinguished Members of the Irish Houses of Parliament. It is a privilege for us to be here today and to make ourselves and our knowledge and understanding available to the distinguished members of this parliamentary committee. This is a matter of importance in Ireland. We understand this very well. It is also very important for the European Commission and it is also important across the European Union because water is a basic element of life and is vital for the balanced and sustainable development of our societies.

We are also deeply respectful of the current political process in Ireland, involving the Parliament, the Government, and large swathes of Irish society because we believe that any legal rule and obligation must be understood properly and perceived as profitable for the society in which it applies. There is no simple obligation by constraint. The rules must be understood, as well as their sense and the overarching objectives they serve. There is no blind compliance and no theoretical or abstract compliance in itself. There are objectives of societal importance and they must be understood and accepted by large majorities of our societies.

This is the situation in this case where several obligations and rules of the EU Water Framework Directive are at stake. The circumstances predominating in Ireland are very important. The EU Water Framework Directive is not intended to be applied in an abstract world. It must be applied in the concrete circumstances of each EU member state and in this case in Ireland, with the geographical and environmental peculiarities, with the social, economic and political peculiarities and characteristics of Ireland. We believe that the Water Framework Directive is a sufficiently flexible instrument, allowing member states to comply with its obligations while paying utmost attention to the particulars of their economies, societies and societal interests. This is why it is called a framework and it is a directive.

We have been mindful of the fact that this distinguished committee has paid attention in past hearings to the challenges faced by the Irish water system, an infrastructure which is in serious need of upgrade and where the level of leakage is high. There is clear evidence that previous water pricing policies have been ineffective in providing both the revenues to ensure the necessary levels of investment and the incentives to citizens to use water efficiently. Ireland's non-compliance with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, as illustrated also by the measure taken today by the political college of the European Commission in Brussels, and with the Drinking Water Directive, are cases in point. We have been mindful of the conclusions of the expert committee that was engaged to make some recommendations and to explore the matters for the attention of the parliamentary committee. We have also noticed that the expert committee noted that Ireland is a long way from achieving a good status in its waters under the Water Framework Directive and that no overall improvement in water quality was recorded between 2009 and 2015. The services of the European Commission endorse the findings of the committee which we believe are objective.

Against this backdrop the fundamental questions which deserve an earnest public debate and appropriate solutions are, one, how to secure equal access to good quality and healthy drinking water and good quality water services for all citizens whether vulnerable children or elderly people, rich or poor, working or unemployed.

Ensuring healthy drinking water means protecting the health of Irish citizens. This is of paramount importance and does not apply only to the health of an abstract Irish citizen. It applies to every individual who lives on the territory of the Republic of Ireland and benefits from water services. The second important question is how to avoid wasteful expenses for the public purse, generated by significant leaks and malfunctions, and to address the inability to provide drinking water of sufficient quality. I am sure Irish lawmakers and citizens have a very clear understanding of how careful spending of the public budget can lead to the utmost benefit being reaped.

A third crucial question is how to secure the smart investments required for upgrading the water sector as a public service. The water framework directive is a flexible instrument allowing the public authorities of each EU country to ask these questions in a way that best fits the local circumstances. Water pricing policy must comply with the cornerstone principles of cost recovery and polluter pays, but there is wide scope for adaptation to specific societal and economic circumstances. The paramount argument in this respect is taken straight from the directive, and is that national authorities are allowed to take into account, when establishing differentiated water tariffs, the variation in economic and social conditions in their respective jurisdictions. Therefore, there is room for social tariffs for vulnerable citizens.

The recovery of costs must ensure the water sector meets its serious needs in terms of both maintenance and investment in water and wastewater infrastructure. In order to comply with the polluter pays principle and for the charges for excessive or wasteful use to attain their purpose, the consumption of water for normal use should be set at a reasonable level and the charges for excessive or wasteful use should be dissuasive. This entails the ability to objectively and consistently measure the amount of water used.

The European Commission and its services remain at the disposal of Irish authorities during this hearing, after this hearing and throughout the deliberative process for any further exchanges that are necessary.