Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 633: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the way in which local authorities calculate a mains water contribution charge; if it is based on the number of units or square footage; the charge of same and the legislation that underpins it; if it varies across local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31734/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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In accordance with the EU water framework directive, national water services pricing policy provides for the full recovery by sanitary authorities of the cost of providing water services from the users of these services, on the basis of average operational and marginal capital costs, with the exception of households using water services for domestic purposes. This recovery of the cost of providing water services to the non-domestic sector is to be mainly achieved by means of meter based volumetric charges; metering of the non-domestic sector for this purpose is to be completed by December 2006.

All projects funded under my Department's water services investment programme now require that the marginal capital cost of servicing non-domestic consumers should be met by the non-domestic sector. Marginal capital cost is to be calculated on the basis of existing and future non-domestic capacity requirements which vary from scheme to scheme. Non-domestic marginal capital costs are recovered by a sanitary authority from all non-domestic consumers in its functional area, on a county-wide basis, through a combination of water charges on non-domestic customers and planning levies on future development. In general, the capital and operational costs of water services provision is charged to the non-domestic sector on the basis of metered use. The power for a local authority to charge for the supply of water is provided for in section 65A of the Public Health (Ireland) Act 1878, as amended by the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act 1962 and the Local Government (Financial Provisions) Act 1997.