Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Section 8(2) states:

The Commission shall not provide the dispute resolution service where the complaint—

(a) is or has been the subject of legal proceedings before a court,

(b) is made after the expiration of 6 years from the date on which the cause of the complaint is alleged to have occurred,

(c) relates to a matter that does not concern the functions or objectives of the Commission...

This may help Deputy Cowen with his query. Furthermore, section 8(4) states:

A person is not entitled to make a complaint unless—

(a) at the time to which the complaint relates he or she—(i) was registered with Irish Water as a customer,

(ii) has previously communicated the substance of his or her complaint to Irish Water in writing, and

(iii) has exhausted any dispute resolution mechanism provided by Irish Water,

and(b) a final decision on the complaint has been issued by Irish Water to the customer in writing.

If Deputy Donnelly wishes to make an amendment in respect of the last matter I will consider it on Report Stage. It is something that I will need to digest. Anyway, I take the validity of what he has said.

It is important to point out that a customer is anyone who receives a service from Irish Water. There is a difference between a customer and a registered customer. That is the nub of the issue. The benefits for registered customers of Irish Water include certain allowances, the fact that they will receive a correct bill and that they will be able to get the water conservation grant. Now, through this measure, they will have access to the dispute resolution process.

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