James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to reflect on the tremendous progress that has been made in water services in Ireland and the ongoing efforts of the Government and Uisce Éireann in this area. I assure the House that securing a safe and reliable water supply is a top priority for the Government, as is securing water services to facilitate housing development in all parts of the country. It is worth reflecting on the fact that in the last ten years Uisce Éireann has ramped up capital delivery for water services and infrastructure from €300 million in 2014 to roughly €1.3 billion in 2024. Last November, the then Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, approved Uisce Éireann's strategic funding plan, SPF, 2025 to 2029. This plan, which is a statutory requirement under water services legislation, specifies the arrangements that Uisce Éireann proposes to make to meet the policy objectives of the Government’s water services policy statement. The plan sets out Uisce Éireann's multi-annual strategic funding requirement of €16.9 billion to 2029, comprised of a €10.3 billion investment in infrastructure and assets and €6.6 billion in operating costs. This represents an unprecedented level of funding in our water infrastructure. For 2025, the Exchequer will provide to Uisce Éireann just over €2.2 billion. In addition to this sustained support for Uisce Eireann, the provision of additional capital investment to support housing development in our towns and villages will be considered in the context of the national development plan, NDP, review which is to be completed in the first half of this year.

I would like to remind the House of the journey we have taken to get here. Irish Water, as it was then, was incorporated in July 2013 as a company under the Water Services Act 2013 responsible for bringing public water and wastewater services of the 31 local authorities together under one single national utility. In 2018, the Government announced that Irish Water would become a stand-alone, publicly owned, regulated utility. The Water Services (Amendment) Act 2022, provided for the legal separation of Uisce Éireann from the Ervia Group, and changed the name of the company from Irish Water to Uisce Éireann. With effect from 1 January 2023, Uisce Éireann is solely owned by two shareholders, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The Government’s policy paper on water sector transformation, published in February 2021, sets the vision for water services based on the full integration of water services provided by 31 local authorities into one national authority, Uisce Éireann. The objective is to deliver a world-class public water services authority that meets customer needs, operates in line with best practice, represents value for money and facilitates economic development in urban and rural locations. Only a national authority, backed by strong Government investment in water infrastructure, will deliver the standard of water and wastewater networks and environmental management systems required by Irish citizens and consumers in the 21st century.

Moving the operation and control of water services from 31 local authorities to direct Uisce Éireann responsibility represents one of the largest public sector reform programmes in recent years, and certainly the largest affecting the local government sector. The impact of the structural changes has presented challenges and will continue to do so but my Department is committed to working with and supporting local authorities as they depart this key operational service. Uisce Éireann has ongoing supports in place for local authority staff who are considering transferring to it. These supports include information on training, benefits, work packages, structures and details on local issues. Those workers who choose not to voluntarily transfer to Uisce Éireann will remain in the direct employment of their current local authority, maintaining their current terms and conditions of employment. They may continue to work in water services, under the direction of Uisce Éireann, until 31 December 2026. Opportunities for those staff who do not seek to transfer to Uisce Éireann will be identified during the transition period to 2026. Local authorities will cease any involvement in the direct provision of water services to the public on and from 31 December 2026.

There are extensive corporate governance arrangements in place in relation to Uisce Éireann in accordance with the code of practice for governance of State bodies.

My Department maintains oversight of compliance with requirements relating to financial reporting and strategic planning, for example, alongside the obligations to report directly to me, as Minister, on major developments and compliance. The chair and CEO are also accountable to the Committee of Public Accounts with regard to the annual accounts, while Uisce Éireann is also subject to robust independent regulatory oversight. This includes economic regulation exercised by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, and oversight of drinking water quality and wastewater discharges by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA. The regulatory framework being applied by the CRU mirrors the approach that is applied to other utilities in Ireland and, in many instances, internationally. The essential output of the regulatory process is a multi-annual limit on the revenue that can be recovered by Uisce Éireann over a five-year period together with associated performance and customer service targets. This regulatory model reflects best international practice in bringing the challenge to Uisce Éireann to serve the needs of society and our economy.

The CRU also has a role to protect customers by setting quality of service standards and ensuring customers are treated fairly. The Environmental Protection Agency, on the other hand, is responsible for the regulation of drinking water quality and environmental oversight of Uisce Éireann. It monitors compliance with the European Union standards with regard to drinking water and for wastewater discharges. Uisce Éireann achieves a high level of compliance with these requirements and is actively addressing instances where its performance is falling short. It must be acknowledged, however, that where a significant investment is required with regard to a treatment plant, be it for drinking water or wastewater, there is often a significant timeframe required for planning, procuring, constructing and commissioning the new infrastructure.

The Water Services Policy Statement 2024-2030 was published in February 2024 following its approval by Government. The publication of the statement is a statutory requirement under the Water Services Act. The policy statement sets out a series of high-level policy objectives across the three thematic areas of availability and reliability, safety and quality, and sustainability, which must be pursued when planning capital investment and framing current spending plans. The policy statement supports the promotion of water conservation and water resources management as an important element of water services policy that is to be reflected in strategic investment planning by Uisce Éireann. For the period of the policy statement, this will involve the prioritisation of multifaceted programmes around leak detection and repair, network improvements, public awareness campaigns and funding to fix customer-side leaks.

Every day, we currently lose approximately 37% of our treated water through leaks before it even reaches our taps. Leaks can be difficult to find because they happen in the vast and complex network of pipes below ground. Many of these pipes are now old and damaged and need to be repaired or replaced to improve our water quality and supply. Uisce Éireann is making progress. In 2018, the rate of leakage nationally was 46% and by the end of 2022, it was 37%. This is on track to achieve a national leakage rate of 25% and to save a further 200 million l of water daily by the end of 2030.

With a view to adding further drive to the conservation effort, a national water conservation working group will be established to advise me on a future strategy for water conservation and prioritisation of resources during periods of water stress. My Department is currently drafting the terms of reference for that working group.

The Government is committed to promoting development in rural communities. The small towns and villages growth programme is a national programme that caters for growth in the smaller towns and villages with existing Uisce Éireann infrastructure. Through it, Uisce Éireann supports rural growth by investing in water services in areas that are identified and prioritised by local authorities in line with their county development plans. Uisce Éireann has consulted local authorities on their priority small towns and villages, which has resulted in an initial investment of more than €400 million. The programme for Government also commits to investing additional capital in Uisce Éireann to support reaching our new housing targets. We will prioritise water and wastewater infrastructure to deliver the capacity to facilitate housing development in our towns and villages. This additional funding will be considered as part of the national development plan, NDP, review which is due to be completed in the middle of the year.

As well as funding development of our towns and villages, the Government is also committed to supporting Uisce Éireann in the delivery of major national infrastructure. The water supply project for the eastern and midlands region, which was approved in principle by Government in June 2024, is a major strategic investment in drinking water infrastructure. The existing water sources and infrastructure for the eastern and midlands region do not have the capacity or resilience to meet the region’s future needs. Many water sources in the region will be at capacity by the late 2020s and will be unable to cater for new connections for residential and commercial developments.

The greater Dublin area is also over-reliant on a single source of water, with 85% of its water drawn down from the River Liffey. The water supply project for the eastern and midlands region is the first major new source water infrastructure in the region in the last 60 years. It will deliver a safe, secure and sustainable source of water supply necessary to support our growing population and economy, including the demand for housing. The project will abstract water from the lower River Shannon at the Parteen Basin downstream of Lough Derg in County Tipperary, with water treatment nearby at Birdhill. The treated water will be pumped 170 km through counties Tipperary, Offaly and Kildare to a reservoir at Peamount in County Dublin, connecting into the greater Dublin water network. It will deliver secure and sustainable water supplies for more than 2.5 million people across the eastern and midlands region, with an estimated budget of between €4.6 billion and €6 billion. This will create a treated water supply spine across the country, providing infrastructure with the capacity to serve communities along the route in counties Tipperary, Offaly and Westmeath. In addition, it will enable supplies currently serving Dublin to be redirected back to counties Louth, Meath, Kildare, Carlow and Wicklow, providing security of supply to homes and businesses which will support growth and regional development.

On the wastewater side, the greater Dublin drainage project is critical to facilitate growth in the greater Dublin area. The new wastewater treatment plant will be situated in the southern fringes of Fingal, immediately outside the M50 motorway in County Dublin, and will serve the north-west quadrant of the existing Ringsend wastewater treatment catchment area. This will reduce the current pressure on the Ringsend wastewater treatment plant and release critical network capacity to Ringsend to support economic and residential development. The volume of wastewater generated in the greater Dublin area is projected to increase by more than 50% in the period to 2050. In the absence of this, the Ringsend plant will be at risk of operating beyond its design capacity.

What I have outlined here is just a snapshot of the work Uisce Éireann and the whole Government are undertaking to secure Ireland’s water services into the future. This work is happening every day in our cities, towns and rural communities. I commend all the staff in Uisce Éireann, our local authorities and the State agencies involved.

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