Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Water Environment (Abstractions and Associated Impoundments) Bill 2022 is a significant milestone in Ireland’s overall environmental protection measures. The critical Bill sets out a system of controls on the abstraction and impoundment of water to protect our water environment and to ensure compliance with Ireland’s responsibilities under the water framework directive. This forms part of Ireland’s response to the European Commission infringement proceedings in the field of water policy.

The process of drafting the Bill has involved extensive consultation with a range of stakeholders including the EPA, Irish Water, ESB and Waterways Ireland, among others. The system provided for under the Bill modernises the process whereby Irish Water can carry out a public extraction to supply water. It provides legal certainty in a number of key areas including the means by which objections may be made to proposed Irish Water abstractions, compensation for material adverse effects and water rights as a result of abstraction by Irish Water, temporary and emergency abstraction by Irish Water, the protection of canals and navigable waters and abstraction from ESB reservoirs. The Bill modernises the regime of water abstractions which is outdated and is limited in scope being based on legislation that was enacted in 1942 and in 1964. It provides for a simple registration system for water abstractions, subject to a minimum threshold where registration is not required.

It provides a licensing regime administered by the EPA for water abstractions over a specified threshold. It provides updated power for Irish Water, as the national authority for water services, to take abstractions subject to EPA licensing and subject to an appeal to An Bord Pleanála in relation to possible impacts on third parties' water rights. It provides for compensation for material adverse effects caused by interference with water rights as a result of a public abstraction by Irish Water. It makes specific provision to allow Irish Water to abstract water from ESB reservoirs with the agreement of the ESB. It gives specific recognition and protection for canals and other navigable waters under the control of Waterways Ireland. It recognises the roles of the ESB and Waterways Ireland. It gives necessary environmental protections to our water sources.

I thank all Members for their contributions to the debate this afternoon and I commend the Bill to the House.

See this speech in context