Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 346: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the percentage of general taxation spent on domestic water services. [30401/10]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 347: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the amount and percentage of all central funding from his Department to local authorities that is spent on domestic water services. [30402/10]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 348: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the amount spent annually by local authorities on domestic water services. [30403/10]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 349: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the average cost of treated water per litre. [30404/10]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 350: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of litres of treated water wasted each year as a result of leaks in the public water networks State-wide, broken down by local authority area. [30405/10]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 351: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the annual cost to business of commercial water rates; the amount collected by local authorities of same. [30406/10]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 352: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on the key components of the German model of water services provision which he has expressed a preference for in the media including the price charged per litre of water to households and the structure of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30409/10]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 353: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the price per litre of water charged to households in Britain. [30410/10]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 354: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the international comparative research being undertaken by his Department on water service models of provision; and if he will make any related reports compiled by his Department available. [30411/10]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 358: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans to promote water conservation by households and businesses respectively; if these plans include measures to assist with insulating water pipes, capturing and circulating grey water, water bungs and retrofitting to toilets and so on; and the finance that will be made available for same. [30415/10]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 359: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his Department has conducted or assessed research into the levels of domestic use of water; the average annual usage of treated water by households in litres; if he will provide a breakdown of average usage in categories (details supplied),. [30417/10]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 360: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 314 and 315 of 11 May, if he has brought his proposals on water charges to Government as indicated; the nature of those proposals and specifically if he will now confirm if the imposition of charges will not precede the completion of the intended metering installation works to all households; and the expected costs of installing meters at every household. [30418/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 346 to 354, inclusive, and 358 to 360, inclusive, together.

The Local Government Annual Financial Statement for 2008, which is the most recently published, showed that local authorities current expenditure on water services amounted to €780.1 million while capital expenditure was €980.9 million, a total expenditure of €1,761 million made up of a combination of Exchequer grants, general purpose grants from the Local Government Fund, and the local authorities' own resources. According to the Local Government Annual Financial Statement for 2008, local authorities levied non-domestic water charges totalling €189.9 million in 2008 while they collected €150.6 million during the year.

The Government's water pricing framework requires local authorities to ensure that the full operational cost, including administrative, maintenance and repair costs, in respect of the provision of water and waste water services to non-domestic users is recovered. Water is normally priced per cubic metre which is equivalent to 1,000 litres of water. The average non-domestic water charge in 2010 is €2.47 per cubic metre.

My Department keeps developments in water services in other countries under on-going review. Ireland's EU and OECD membership involves a degree of information sharing and peer review which facilitates such on-going review of policy developments. An OECD report published this year, Pricing Water Resources and Water and Sanitation Services, noted a 2008 survey of average water service charges for households; the survey reported that the average charge in Germany was €4.44 per cubic metre while in England and Wales, the average charge was €4.66 per cubic metre.

The Local Government Management Services Board report, Service Indicators in Local Authorities 2008, published in June 2009, contains information on the levels of Unaccounted for Water for each of the 34 county and city councils. A copy of the report is available in the Oireachtas library and on the Board's website, www.lgmsb.ie.

The installation of water meters in households connected to public supplies will encourage householders to conserve water and will result in savings in the significant operational costs faced by local authorities in providing water and waste water services. This will complement the significant increases in investment on water conservation measures in the Water Services Investment Programme 2010-2012 which I announced earlier in 2010. The primary objectives of the proposed investments are to promote more sustainable water consumption by households, to reduce water loss in the distribution networks to an economic level and to address unacceptably high levels of unaccounted for water in some locations. It is open to any business to invest in water saving measures as a means of reducing its water consumption and thereby reducing costs.

The National Water Study, published by my Department in 2000, estimated that average daily water usage per person was 145 litres per day. It is not possible to estimate water usage based on the categories supplied in the relevant question. Following the decision by the Government in December 2009, my Department is finalising proposals for the installation of water meters in households served by public water supplies. These proposals will give effect to the commitment in the renewed Programme for Government to introduce charging for domestic water in a way that is fair, significantly reduces waste and is easily applied. I expect to bring these proposals to Government in the coming weeks.