Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In regard to the establishment of an independent ombudsman, the Commission for Energy Regulation has been given statutory responsibility for protecting the interests of customers in this area, as it does in respect of the electricity and gas companies, about which there is no concern in regard to privatisation. The Commission for Energy Regulation, CER, requires Irish Water to produce a customer handbook outlining the minimum requirement for customer service standards it will provide to its customers. The Water Services Act 2014 makes statutory provision for the investigation by the CER of customer complaints not resolved by Irish Water. This will be similar to the service operated by the commission in the gas and electricity markets. In addition, the CER will engage with Irish Water and the Environmental Protection Agency on the development of complementary complaints processes to ensure that customers with complaints or queries are directed in an efficient manner to the appropriate organisation. Surely, all the aforementioned protections to be provided by the Commission for Energy Regulation are what Deputy McGrath is seeking in an independent ombudsman. The Government has put forward an affordable model that will ensure our water security into the future.

We need to conserve water and improve conservation practices. As a former school principal, I recall the introduction of water charges for schools prior to the election of this Government in 2011. Schools received no additional funding to pay water charges. They simply got on with it. Education management taught children how to conserve water in the school and in their homes. As I said earlier, our young people understand the need for water conservation. I ask that, as responsible elected representatives, we lead and educate our people about the fact that water is a finite resource.

I remind the people of Dún Laoghaire and other people living in this country that a water conservation grant of €100 is available. Further details in this regard are available at www.watergrant.ie.

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