Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. I apologise on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, who is unavailable to respond to this issue, which will lead to further discussions.
The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water is responsible for public water services and can collect charges from customers in receipt of water services provided by it. The Act also provides that responsibility for the independent economic regulation of the water sector is assigned to the Commission for Energy Regulation, CER, which has been given statutory responsibility for protecting the interests of customers of Irish Water.
The proposed approach to charging was outlined by Irish Water in a water charges plan, which was submitted to the CER in line with the provisions of the Act. The commission recently held a public consultation on this plan which covered a range of issues relating to water charges and allowances. On 30 September 2014, the commission issued a determination on the water charges plan.
In making its determination on the water charges plan, the commission had to take account of the decisions made by the Government on the funding model for Irish Water and a ministerial direction made under section 42 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 in July 2014. This policy direction addressed a number of matters relating to domestic water charges, including the provision of a free allowance of 30,000 litres of water supplied and wastewater treated per annum for a primary residence on a public supply and a free allowance to cover the normal usage of water services by every child in their primary residence, while customers with specific medical conditions that require increased water consumption will have their charges capped.
In its determination on the water charges plan, the CER has approved charges to be levied by Irish Water. These charges outline how much a customer will pay for the water service his or her household receives, how unmetered customers will be billed by way of an assessed charge, the rates to be charged for households with a meter installed, and a minimum water charge which will apply to non-primary residences. The owner of the premises will be required to pay a minimum charge for water supply and for wastewater per service for a domestic property that is not permanently occupied.
The commission also decided, in its determination, to make a number of changes to the water charges plan submitted by Irish Water. These included the capping of the total water charges for all customers at the unmetered "assessed charge" for nine months. The cap will apply from the start date of the next billing period after installation of the meter or 1 October 2014, whichever is the later. With regard to the annual minimum charge for a combined water supply and wastewater service at a non-primary residence, the CER have reduced these charges from €160 to €125 per annum or €62.50 per service per annum. In addition, the Government has agreed to put in place further affordability measures to assist pensioners, persons with disabilities, and carers who receive the household benefits package. The conditions and administrative approach to this additional measure are being developed by the Department of Social Protection. Further measures were also announced earlier as part of budget 2015.
The establishment of the CER as the independent economic regulator for Irish Water is a clear demonstration of the Government's commitment to ensure the interests of customers are well represented. The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water is required to prepare codes of practice on a range of matters related to the protection of the customer, including standards relating to the performance by Irish Water of its functions; the provision of information to customers of Irish Water for the purposes of enabling customers to communicate with Irish Water; and billing by Irish Water of persons in respect of water services provided. These codes of practice are now published and available on Irish Water's website www.water.ie.
The Senator raised the case of a person who does not use water at her residence because she resides in a nursing home. I will convey this to the Minister and I will ask him to communicate with Irish Water because the Senator has made a strong case. However, as somebody who has had a meter on his home for the past 20 years, there are few instances of houses in which water is not used. Somebody will have access to the house. If no drop of water is used from one end of the year to the other, Irish Water should examine such cases but they are few and far between. I was a member of a local authority in County Tipperary. Water charges were in place for many years and people paid them. I rarely came across a case where no water passed through the meter. However, I will bring the Senator's contribution to the attention of the Minister.
With regard to the PPS numbers, my understanding is Irish Water needs them to apply the allowances. If it does not have the numbers, it cannot process the allowances. There is a great deal of fear and the communications relating to Irish Water raises many questions. However, as somebody who uses a meter, we have to conserve water. The greatest fear people have relates to the volume of water they use. If one conserves water and the pipes that serve one's home are not leaking, the water bill will be low. Much of the fear relates to leaks and using large volumes of water. There are few leaks in urban Ireland, in particular. One will recognise a leak quickly where water is gathering on the lawn or is coming through the floors in the house. In rural Ireland, leaks could happen under a ditch on a farm or under a road and it is often difficult to detect them.
The Senator referred to a particular individual and there is a good case to be made. I will convey that to the Minister and ask him to address it.