Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the question. The establishment of Irish Water, which is an integral component of the Government’s water sector reform strategy, will lead to lower costs and improved services in the future, providing much better outcomes for customers and the environment. Irish Water is being funded by a combination of domestic and non-domestic water charges, Government support and the raising of debt on capital markets.

The main aspects of the Irish Water funding model are set out in a detailed fact sheet published on my Department’s website. In 2015, Irish Water expects billed income from domestic customers to total €271 million and income from non-domestic customers to total some €229 million, giving a total billed income from customers of €500 million.

Government funding is by way of operational subvention, loans and capital contributions. Specifically, the Government will provide a €399 million operating subvention to Irish Water in 2015. This subvention will be paid in respect of the child allowance of 21,000 litres per child per annum, a product subsidy and the capping of domestic water charges at the rates set out in the Water Services Act 2014.

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