Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. a1:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:

“supports the establishment of Irish Water as a long-term strategic investment project to deliver the necessary water services infrastructure and quality of services required to meet statutory compliance and demographic needs, benefitting Irish citizens and businesses;

recognises that managing our water resources effectively is also essential to ensure that Ireland can continue to attract major overseas investment and employment;

recognises that the legislation establishing Irish Water prohibits the privatisation of the company;

notes that:

— following on from the requirement to introduce water charges as part of the agreement with the troika, the Government provided for the introduction of a fair funding model to deliver a clean, reliable and affordable water supply with a charging system based on usage;

— the Commission for Energy Regulation, CER, has published its decision on water charges on 30 September 2014 taking account of the policy framework set by the Government;

— the CER have examined the establishment costs of Irish Water and approved €172.8 million on the basis that this investment will enable Irish Water to drive substantial cost savings and service quality improvements over the interim review period and for many years to come; and

— the CER has approved an extensive capital investment programme for Irish Water and, in its examination of Irish Water’s costs in the period ahead, set challenging annual efficiency targets for both operational and capital expenditure;

recognises the importance of ensuring that there is full public understanding of the rationale for the establishment of Irish Water and that issues of legitimate public interest arising in that context are addressed, in order to support public trust and confidence;

emphasises the commitment of Irish Water to addressing the issues involved, with a particular priority on actively reviewing its communications strategy to better reflect the needs of all stakeholders, including elected members;

welcomes:

— the progress with the roll-out of the domestic metering programme being delivered by Irish Water with some 450,000 meters installed to date, supporting some 1,300 jobs; this level of meter installation now significantly exceeds the 400,000 target for end-2014 already indicated to the CER;

— the indications that progress remains on track for the installation of 1.05 million meters, with programme completion likely to be ahead of the target - mid-2016 rather than end-2016; and

— the Government’s package of measures to ensure that domestic water charges are introduced in as fair and equitable a basis as possible, with particular reference to the following elements:

— Irish Water’s Government subvention averaging €537 million per annum in 2015 and 2016;

— each household will receive an annual free allowance of 30,000 litres of water and a corresponding allowance for waste water;

— there will be an additional free allowance for every child under 18 years of age to cover a child’s normal consumption of water supplied and waste water treated, 21,000 litres;

— household benefits package and free fuel allowance recipients will receive a €100 "water support" payment per year, benefiting 653,000 households;

— income tax relief on water charges will be available, at the standard rate, worth up to €100 per household per annum when claimed in the following year;

— charges to be capped for people with high water usage due to medical needs; and

— Irish Water to take account of the quality of services provided to customers, including circumstances where services are reduced or restricted, for example, due to boil water notices; and

— the Government’s intention to provide funding to increase investment in public water services infrastructure on average by €100 million in each of the years 2015 and 2016, including for a scheme to provide each household with a free fix of the first leak on a customer’s water supply pipe; and

supports the Government’s overall water funding package, which balances the need for a sustainable funding model to support long-term investment in the sector, taking account of the relevant European rules on Government accounting, while ensuring that domestic water charges are introduced in the most affordable, fair and equitable manner possible.”

I thank Deputy Cowen for bringing this motion to the House and for providing us all with an opportunity to - until the last contribution - rationally debate the critical challenges the country faces in terms of our water infrastructure, and the role of Irish Water and domestic water charges in the future of water services delivery.

At the outset, I acknowledge that the past few weeks have seen some difficulties in communication and public engagement concerning Irish Water. I fully accept this. I accept that for the public, for some of the utility's customers, the customer registration process has been frustrating and at times confusing, and the charging structure is not as easy to understand as it should be. I believe Irish Water also accepts this.

The timelines associated with the establishment of Irish Water have been extremely challenging and ambitious and a task of this scale was never going to run smoothly or easily. There is a need to directly address many issues that have arisen and I intend to do so in this debate. I would go so far as to say that the timelines operating to date have been somewhat unrealistic, squeezing many years of work into too fine a condensed period of months. This is about the creation of one of the largest utilities in the history of the State and it was never going to be a simple task.

Addressing legitimate issues of concern arising, however, is essential to maintain public trust and confidence. I expect to see a major overhaul of the communications strategy employed by Irish Water and that it will be transformed to a customer focussed and customer friendly organisation.

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