Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)

I move:

That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 to give the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) the legislative remit to develop a code of practice for water service outages and to amend the Water Services Act 2014 to establish a dispute resolution mechanism for customer complaints regarding service interruptions and outages.

This Bill would ensure that Uisce Éireann properly communicates with and, more importantly, supports households and businesses during water outages. I thank Deputies Ó Broin, Gould and Guirke for co-sponsoring the Bill. I especially thank Muireann Meehan Speed for her work in preparing the Bill.

The Bill mandates Uisce Éireann to develop a code of practice for water service outages. The legislation mandates measures such as a dedicated response for vulnerable, domestic and business customers; a detailed communication plan for all customers, public representatives and local authorities, including two-hourly updates; the duty to provide emergency replacement water within agreed timeframes; and thresholds for rebates and compensation following planned and unplanned interruptions.

There are very significant issues. I draw attention to the issues in the Kilbreena Estate in Dunboyne, County Meath, as well as many other areas across the State.

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