Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

Before I outline what the Bill is about, I wish to address concerns which have been expressed about provisions on metering of water services. The power to install meters is provided for in existing water services legislation. The metering of water services is a long-standing policy for non-domestic users and a prerequisite to effective water management. Local authorities are well on the way to metering all non-domestic users of water services by 2006, which was the target set out in the Government's 1998 water pricing policy framework. Surveys have indicated that non-domestic consumers would prefer to be charged on the basis of the amount of water consumed rather than at a flat rate because such a system of measurement offers due regard for those involved in water conservation efforts. Water metering promotes the sustainable use of water resources and reflects the proper application of the polluter pays principle and the cost recovery requirements of the EU water framework policy directive. I repeat that the Bill is not a Trojan horse for domestic charges. Such charges are specifically prohibited under the Local Government (Financial Provisions) Act 1997.

It may be helpful at this stage to give a brief overview of what the Bill provides. It establishes the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government as the national authority for regulating the provision of water services. I envisage a hierarchical system of regulation and supervision extending from my Department, through the water services authority sector, to the group water services scheme sector.

Section 30 sets out the functions of the Minister for that purpose. It places a duty on the Minister to facilitate the provision of safe and efficient water services and associated infrastructure. The Minister is also required to supervise and monitor the performance by water services authorities of their functions under the Act and is given responsibility for planning and supervision of investment in water services.

So that he can carry out those functions, the Bill provides the Minister with a broad range of powers, including regarding the provision of guidance, the issue of binding directions, and the monitoring of the performance by individual authorities of their functions — including their own supervisory functions as necessary. To assist and advise the Minister in that regard, the Bill also enables the Minister to appoint statutory consultative groups and committees. That will allow the Minister to involve a broad cross-section of expertise and stakeholder interests in the ongoing evolution and implementation of policy and best practice regarding water services.

The main functions of water services authorities are set out in sections 31 and 32. Those two sections provide the basic statutory framework for water services authorities to deliver water services, assist others in providing water services and supervise the delivery of water services by other persons. The Minister may make regulations specifying performance criteria and quality standards which must be achieved regarding those functions. It is envisaged that most of the EU directives concerning water services, including the drinking water directive and relevant elements of the urban waste water treatment directive, will be transposed into national law under those provisions.

Consistent with the EU drinking water directive, each water services authority is obliged to ensure that water intended for human consumption in its area meets prescribed standards and is provided with powers to prohibit or restrict the use of a water supply, where necessary, to protect public health or the environment. It is envisaged that those powers could be applied either to follow up a water quality incident or at times of drought to protect the integrity of the water supply and related ecosystems.

The Bill provides that each water services authority will carry out its functions in the context of a strategic management framework for the delivery of water services in its area, drawn up in agreement with the Minister. Strategic planning is the cornerstone of all successful enterprises and provides a structured approach to anticipating and responding to demand. It is an essential prerequisite for the efficient and effective delivery of services to required standards, at the right point, at the right time and at the least cost. The hallmark of that approach is evident in the operations of many of our major companies and other public utilities, and it is no less relevant to water services.

Strategic planning has already been introduced on an informal basis in the rural water sector. Section 36 provides for the introduction of an operational planning and review cycle across both rural and urban areas in the functional area of each water services authority. Each water services authority will be required to draw up a water services strategic plan for its functional area at intervals of six years, or after such shorter period as the authority may decide, and to submit it to my Department for approval. The plan will outline the situation regarding water services in its area of application, both current and projected, and identify appropriate responses with a view to protecting human health and the environment and supporting ongoing sustainable development.

The strategic planning process will be based on a partnership between my Department and each water services authority to ensure that national and local water services agendas are fully synchronised. Such co-ordination is essential to ensure that water services plans are fully integrated into national investment planning for social and economic development. The provision in the Bill to enable two or more authorities to prepare joint plans will also ensure that plans for adjoining authorities' functional areas are properly integrated with each other in order to maximise potential synergies and efficiencies and guard against any cumulative impacts that might have an adverse effect on sustainable development or environmental protection in the surrounding region.

The Bill also puts in place a framework of provisions to protect the integrity of water services distribution and collection networks. Unauthorised connection or discharge to a waterworks or waste water works is prohibited. Section 103 prohibits building over another person's water distribution system or drains without the consent of the relevant water services authority. New powers in sections 55 and 61 enable a water services authority to require a developer to open up water supply pipes and drains for inspection before connection to its services. Water services authorities will have powers to specify technical requirements regarding such connections, and it will be an offence under the Bill to make any such connection without the prior approval of the relevant water services authority.

The Bill places a new duty of care on owners and occupiers regarding the sustainable use of water services on their premises and prohibits discharge of anything into a sewer which would block or damage it or adversely affect a waste water treatment process. Water services authorities are provided with powers to direct owners to undertake remedial works, or may themselves carry out any necessary repairs and recover their costs from the owners of the premises.

This suite of provisions is essential to protect the integrity of the water services infrastructure. It is also essential from an environmental and public health perspective and makes sound economic sense. Over the course of the current national development plan, some €4.4 billion will be invested in the provision of water supply and waste water infrastructure. It is vital that our investment in these new and upgraded water services assets be protected. Duties of care on owners and occupiers are also an essential prerequisite for sustainable rural development. Those provisions are a necessary precautionary measure to help strike a sustainable balance between the potentially adverse environmental impacts of development and the social and economic benefits deriving from such development. Accordingly, section 70 in addition specifically obliges occupiers and owners to maintain septic tanks — referred to as treatment systems — in such condition as to avoid nuisance or risk to human health or the environment.

Section 56 provides extensive new powers for the purpose of conserving water supplies. An authorised person is enabled to direct the owner or occupier of a premises to take corrective action to prevent water from being wasted or consumed in excessive amounts. Such officers will also have powers of direction regarding the restriction of water use. Exercise of those powers will be subject to appeal to the District Court, except in times of emergency, and the authorised person will have power to cut off or restrict supply pending compliance.

It is essential that adequate powers be available to water services authorities to prevent the wilful waste of water and maximise the benefits of the national water conservation programme. Some €276 million is being invested in the current round of a national programme to identify and substantially reduce the levels of unaccounted-for water in Ireland's water supply network. The investment must be supported by effective enforcement powers to prevent its being undermined by user-side leakage and waste. That is particularly relevant to the household sector, which, because a charge is not levied for its water supplies, has little or no incentive to conserve them.

I hasten to repeat once again that there is no intention to re-introduce household water charges. On the matter of costs, the increasing demands on water supplies and levels of cost associated with the provision of this essential public utility is a matter of concern, and everyone must recognise that water is a valuable and finite resource. With that in mind, I intend to bring forward a national water conservation publicity campaign to increase public awareness generally and encourage practical water conservation measures. Sustainable living is a shared responsibility. The fact that water is provided to a household free of charge does not mean that it is free of cost. Water conservation measures will not be fully effective until there is broad public awareness of that fact.

The Bill has been drafted with a specific customer focus in mind. Section 32(3) enables the Minister to make regulations on procedures for dealing with consumer complaints. The Bill also contains several new provisions to address long-running problems for consumers that have been brought to the attention of my Department. Section 51, for example, regulates the temporary interruption of water services and obliges water services providers to give reasonable advance notice of interruptions, except in an emergency. Alternative supplies are required to be provided where domestic drinking water supplies are interrupted for more than 24 hours. To ensure unimpeded access to services, water services authorities will also have powers under section 92 to facilitate the connection of individual premises to water services networks through neighbouring connections.

Of particular interest to some customers will be the provision in section 43 in relation to the repair of private connections, linking premises with a sewer or water main. Up until now, responsibility for such repairs has rested with owners and occupiers, resulting in particular problems and inconvenience where faults or breakage occurs outside the boundary of the premises. In the absence of clear legislative authority, sanitary authorities have experienced difficulty in providing assistance to households, even where it was considered appropriate to do so. This anomaly has been the subject of much complaint, including in parts of my constituency, and has attracted adverse criticism from the Office of the Ombudsman. I am glad to be in a position therefore to provide in section 43 for a balanced package of measures to address the issue, enabling water services authorities to intervene, to repair or take into their own charge such service connections as they consider appropriate.

Detailed provisions in relation to rural water services are set out in Part 6 of the Bill. Chief among these is the proposed introduction of a licensing system to regulate and develop the operations of the group water scheme sector. Problems with the quality of drinking water supplies have been a matter of concern to all involved in the rural water sector for some time. My Department, in consultation with the national rural water monitoring committee, the National Federation of Group Water Schemes and relevant local authorities, has undertaken or facilitated a series of initiatives to address the issue. Record investment has been put in place under the rural water programme of the national development plan. Rural water strategies have been prepared for all relevant county councils. A national source-monitoring programme for schemes serving more than 50 persons has been completed and a comprehensive drinking water monitoring programme is currently under way for these schemes.

While these initiatives are having a progressive beneficial effect, it is evident that a stronger regulatory regime is also required to ensure compliance with the relevant operational standards. Part 6 provides accordingly for the introduction of a system of licensing for the group scheme sector. Each water services authority will be the licensing authority for its functional area, and it will be an offence for any person, other than a water services authority, to provide services other than in accordance with the terms of a water services licence.

It would be neither practical nor necessary to licence all of the 6,000 or so group water services schemes across the country, many of which serve only two or three households. To do so would place an inappropriate and excessive administrative burden on smaller schemes. It is intended therefore only to apply the licensing requirements of the Bill to the 1,500 or so larger schemes serving more than 50 persons. Provision is therefore included in section 79 to exempt smaller schemes from licensing. However, there are powers to make regulations to provide for alternative requirements with regard to the registration of smaller schemes and their general compliance with specified standards, as required.

Individual scheme managements have nothing to fear from the introduction of water services licensing. I intend that water services authorities will use their licensing powers in a proactive manner to support and nurture the development of best practice throughout the group water services scheme sector. The objective will be the progressive achievement of the necessary standards. This will be a developmental and supportive regime, not a bureaucratic one. When operational, it will provide a structured mechanism for each scheme to assure itself of its compliance with its obligations.

The Department consulted widely with the group water scheme movement during the course of drafting the Bill, and has its general support for the new provisions, which will serve to underpin the viability of the sector into the future. The group water scheme has been one of the cornerstones of community development in rural areas for the last 40 years or more. It is a prime example of what can be achieved when communities band together to achieve a common good. The many volunteers who have given so generously of their time, talents and energy over the years to improve the lot of rural communities deserve our deepest respect and admiration for their efforts. The group water scheme sector came into being at a time of great need in rural Ireland. It provided an impetus to develop water services infrastructure at a rate far in excess of what central or local government could have achieved if left to their own devices at the time. While the country has changed beyond all expectations in the meantime, the sector is still an essential component of rural water services delivery, and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

Licensing is only one of the supports for the development of rural water services provided for in the Bill. Additional administrative powers are also included to enable a water services authority to intervene directly in the operations of a scheme where it considers that its expertise could be applied to the resolution of a particular problem. Section 91 enables a water services authority to take over the operation and management of a waterworks or waste water works on a temporary basis, where it considers that its operation could constitute a risk to public health or the environment, or where a scheme is experiencing operational problems or is consistently in breach of a licence. Such powers, which may be exercised with or without consent, will enable a breathing space to be established to allow individual schemes to continue to function as going concerns while particular problems are resolved.

I have outlined the main provisions of the Bill. Metering, to which I have already adverted, is dealt with in Part 5. This Part provides for necessary powers of access for installation, reading and maintenance of meters, and investigation of possible offences pertaining to interference with meters or fraudulent use of supplies. Part 7 of the Bill provides for general powers of acquisition for water services purposes and synchronises these functions fully with local authority powers of acquisition under the Planning and Development Act 2000. Existing powers of acquisition for water services purposes currently dealt with under the Public Health (Ireland) Act 1878 will now be repealed. Such simplification and standardisation of procedures is a key objective of the Government's ongoing regulatory reform process.

Among the miscellaneous provisions in Part 8 are savers to prevent older, often obscure, pre-1922 statutes from frustrating the application of the Bill. This is a pragmatic, fail-safe device to avoid undermining of the Bill by ancient and long forgotten legal provisions enacted in another era but which may still perversely be applied against the interests of the common good by a petitioner with a particular vested interest.

Provision is also included in section 102 to enable An Bord Pleanála to determine fees for appeals to it in relation to licensing of effluent discharges to sewers and waters. This is in line with similar provisions under the planning code, and will facilitate the application of similar procedures by An Bord Pleanála in respect of the various appeals processes for which it has responsibility, and further streamline the regulatory process.

I place on record my appreciation of the valued input of the various stakeholders who contributed to the development of this Bill. Key stakeholders, including business interests, the local authority sector, the national rural water monitoring committee and other social partners, were consulted during the drafting process, and helped to ground the provisions of the Bill in a practical reality, reflecting modern-day requirements which the Bill is intended to address. A series of public forums around the country was organised under the auspices of the National Federation of Group Water Schemes, and these also facilitated a wide-ranging exchange of views and helped to fine-tune the provisions of Part 6, in particular, to the needs of rural consumers.

The final shape and content of the Bill owe much to these consultations. It is in effect a synthesis of expert views on best practice requirements for the development and delivery of modern water services in a modern society. The Bill is a testament to the interest and effort of those who were asked to contribute to it, and I value and appreciate the contribution of all who have made an input.

Publication of the Water Services Bill marked another milestone in the ongoing process of regulatory reform undertaken by the Government, and in which my Department has played a leading role. The process has already seen the planning and the local government codes updated and consolidated by my Department. It is now the turn of water services. I am aware that related matters such as water abstraction and management of water bodies such as lakes and river basins are not directly addressed in the Bill. A further consolidation exercise will be required to gather together a comprehensive volume of legislation on the protection and management of water resources generally. However, for the moment I am giving priority to this long overdue element of the regulatory reform process. I will give further consideration to the next phase of the ongoing consolidation and modernisation programme at a later stage.

It is interesting and perhaps instructive to reflect on events here and abroad when the legislative code which the Bill replaces was originally enacted. In Ireland, the Fenian rebellion had not long been suppressed, Isaac Butt was in the process of establishing the Home Rule movement and the GAA was yet to be founded. Abroad, slavery had only recently been abolished in America and, in science, Charles Darwin was working on his The Origin of Species. One may marvel at the technology available to this House today but at that time Alexander Graham Bell was only setting about inventing the telephone.

I make these points because the Bill is intended to bring ancient provisions up to date. Many events have occurred over the past 150 years and we need a new code. While the outgoing code stood the test of time, its time has now past. In commending this Bill to the House, therefore, I hope the new code will prove as robust and long-lasting as its predecessor. I commend the Bill to the House.

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