Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This amendment is considered necessary because there is no provision in primary legislation to provide for ministerial approval for the making of a pension scheme by Irish Water. The amendment is not really connected to the issue of the disposal of the energy business of Bord Gáis. Rather, it is an enabling amendment to allow the company’s subsidiary, Irish Water, to get on with creating a pension scheme for its workers.

The Water Services Act 2013 provided for the establishment of Irish Water as a subsidiary of Bord Gáis and registered under the Companies Acts. Irish Water was formally incorporated in July 2013 and has assumed responsibility for the roll-out of the domestic metering programme. Also in July, the Government approved the general scheme of a water services (No. 2) Bill, currently being drafted by the Office of the Attorney General. It will provide for the transfer of responsibility for the provision of water services from the 34 county and city councils to Irish Water. It was originally intended to include provisions regarding ministerial approval of a pension scheme in this second Bill. However, Irish Water has commenced recruiting staff to manage the delivery of the metering programme and in preparation for its future role as the water services utility. Accordingly, it is proposed to bring forward Irish Water’s superannuation provisions and include them as an amendment to the Gas Regulation Bill 2013. This will ensure we establish a statutory basis for ministerial approval of any pension scheme established by Irish Water at the earliest possible date.