Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 41:

In page 12, to delete lines 21 to 23 and substitute the following:

“ “21. The entire network (within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Water Services Act 2007) used for the provision of water services (within the meaning of that subsection) by Irish Water or a person who holds a water services licence under section 79 of the Water Services Act 2007 or land and buildings occupied by Irish Water or such a licence holder.”.”.

The purpose of this provision is that land used for provision of public water services is not rateable for the purposes of the Valuation Act 2001. This exemption will apply to Irish Water for the provision of water supply and waste water treatment and to group water supplies. From a financial perspective the changes arising from the provisions in this Bill will, in total, involve a reduction in revenue for Irish Water of €21 million in 2015 and €56 million in 2016. However, Irish Water's costs will also be reduced as a result of the approach to the treatment of water infrastructure for commercial rates purposes, such that the subvention does not need to be paid to Irish Water to fund this cost. Equivalent support is given directly to the local authorities through the Local Government Fund.

The intention of this amendment is that the exemption shall be restricted to Irish Water and to group schemes - this is important. This is a technical amendment and was prepared following consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in order to clarify the scope of the exemption.

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