Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Last week, the Government announced details of its decision on the funding model for Irish Water. The announcement included details of the free allowance, which will be provided to all customers of Irish Water, which will equate to 30,000 litres per household. An additional allowance will be provided in respect of each child under the age of 18 to cover the normal usage by every child in his or her primary residence. The allowance will be based on the same qualifying conditions as child benefit. This allowance will be up to 38,000 litres per child per year. The level of consumption on which the level of the free allowance for children is based, will be verified by water metering data to be provided to the Commission for Energy Regulation. The provision of the free allowance for children in this way means that no additional charges arise for children and will increase the affordability of water charges for families with children.

Supporting the affordability of water charges is a critical policy objective of the Government. The provision of the free allowance along with a number of other policy measures demonstrates the Government's commitment in this regard. Among the additional measures are a decision that there will be no standing charge for households and that a minimum charge may apply to properties, such as holiday homes, which are not permanently occupied; support for those with certain medical conditions by capping the level of charge at the assessed charge - details of this are being finalised with the Department of Health; the provision of additional support for pensioners, persons with disabilities and carers who receive the household benefits package; a commitment to maintain the average charge for domestic water charges at €240 for 2015 and 2016; a requirement for assessed charges to be based on occupancy to provide the best proxy for usage, with provision for rebates for those moving from assessed to metered charges; and the introduction of a "first fix free" scheme by Irish Water at a cost of €51 million.

The Commission for Energy Regulation, CER, has been provided with statutory responsibility for the economic regulation of Irish Water. Under the legislation, the CER will be responsible for approving the water charges plan prepared by Irish Water. The CER has announced that it will be consulting on the water charges plan in June this year, and that the approved water charges plan will be announced in August. Accordingly, households will have full clarity on the level of charges in advance of their introduction.

The Minister, Deputy Hogan, has announced his intention to use his powers under the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 to issue a policy direction to the Commission for Energy Regulation to provide that the Government's decision on the funding model is incorporated into the water charges plan to be approved by the Commission.

See this speech in context