Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

Section 51 provides for the powers of a water services provider to temporarily interrupt services for maintenance purposes or where there is a risk to human health or the environment. The first of these amendments removes the seven day, prior notice stipulation from subsection (3) in regard to planned interruption of water services. It is not considered appropriate on a practical, operational level to prescribe a specific time period for notification of the interruption of services.

Shortened interruptions, often late at night and of minimal duration, are routinely necessary to allow technical adjustments of calibration to take place and to facilitate checking for leakage. Such interruptions take place overnight and the consumer would generally be unaware of their occurrence. It would neither be practical nor reasonable to give seven days' notice of such actions. A similar approach is taken in other jurisdictions.

Removal of the seven day notice requirement is complemented by the second amendment which enables the Minister to issue guidance as to what reasonably could be regarded as an appropriate alternative supply of drinking water for domestic purposes for the purposes of the fulfilment by a water services provider of its obligations under subsection (4)(b) to provide such a supply. It further provides that the exercise by a water services provider of its authority under this section to temporarily interrupt a water supply shall be subject to compliance with any such guidance. Amendment No. 94 ensures the interests of consumers continue to be protected.