Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 6:

In page 6, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “(5) Notwithstanding the repeal of sections 44(1)(b) and 53 of the Act of 2017 by subsection (4)(a), the Water Advisory Body shall prepare a report under section 44(1)(b) and an annual report under section 53, as modified bysection 28, for the period ending on 31 December 2022.”.

These amendments are linked to the repealed sections 44(1) and 53 concerning the Water Advisory Body's reporting functions. The body will cease to have advisory and reporting functions on 1 January 2023, when Uisce Éireann becomes accountable to the Committee of Public Accounts on that date. It is appropriate, however, from a governance and transparency perspective, that the Water Advisory Body complete its work regarding 2022 while it is statutorily in existence. It is necessary to give the body time to complete its outstanding reports, so these administrative tasks will be facilitated prior to the formal dissolution of the body.

This amendment provides that the Water Advisory Body will complete its final 2022 quarterly report on the performance of Irish Water in the implementation of its business plan and submit this to the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, as provided for in section 44(1) of the Water Services Act 2017. The amendment also provides that the body will complete the final 2022 annual report and submit this to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, as provided for in section 53(1) of the Water Services Act 2017. The Water Advisory Body will be given until dissolution day, that is, 28 February 2023, to complete its reports for 2022. The body will then be dissolved.

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