Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Irish Water will concentrate on its core role and services into the future. Therefore, there will be no call-out service or charge. If householders have an internal leak, they should do what they always did, call a plumber.

The water conservation grant replaces the tax rebate and social protection measures previously announced, as it is a more straightforward means of addressing water issues for all households on equal terms and will reduce the outlay of households on water services both now and into the future. The Department of Social Protection will administer the scheme on behalf of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. The detailed arrangements for its operation are being developed by the Departments, with an expectation of it being operational from September 2015. To be eligible for the grant, householders with any element of public water or sewage water supply or on group water schemes or with private wells must have completed a valid response to the Irish Water registration campaign.

The mandatory provision of PPS numbers to Irish Water by customers has been a source of particular concern to many people. In response, the Government has decided to discontinue this requirement. The new arrangements are based on self-declaration and appropriate audit. PPS numbers will not be required for registration. An individual household may be asked to provide evidence in support of its occupancy declaration as part of the audit regime. The provisions in the Social Welfare Acts which allowed for exchange of PPS information will be repealed. Irish Water will delete any PPS data already collected during the customer registration process. Irish Water is agreeing a protocol with the Data Protection Commissioner in regard to this and the process will be subject to independent verification.

The overall package of measures being put in place is designed to make water charges more affordable. A range of easy pay options will be in place, including direct debits, electronic fund transfers, payment by cash at any retail outlet with a paypoint or payzone sign or at a post office where a bill can be paid in full or in part payments of a minimum of €5.

I intend to legislate to remove the power to cut off or reduce the supply of water to premises where water charges remain wholly or partly unpaid. Instead, unless the customer enters into a payment plan, late payment penalties of €30 for a single adult household and €60 for other households will be added to bills three months following a year of non-payment.

See this speech in context