Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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762. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the exemptions he plans to introduce to alleviate hardship on certain sectors of society when water charges are introduced (details supplied). [34488/13]

Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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798. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the exemptions to paying the water charge; the criteria to determine same; if an allowance will be granted to residents in hard water areas (details supplied) in County Cork in view of the considerable costs incurred by such households in relation to the repair and replacement of household appliances. [35117/13]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 762 and 798 together.

The Programme for Government and the Memorandum of Understanding with the EU, the IMF and the ECB provide for the introduction of domestic water charges. The Government considers that charging based on usage is the fairest way to charge for water and it has, therefore, decided that water meters should be installed in households connected to public water supplies. The Government has also decided to assign responsibility for the economic regulation of the water sector, including the setting of charges, to the Commission for Energy Regulation. The primary role of the Regulator will be to protect the interests of customers and to ensure a consistent and appropriate level of service is provided to them. An appropriate approach to charging customers will be put in place and a public consultation will take place as part of the regulatory process.

Affordability issues will be addressed by my Department and the Department of Social Protection, in consultation with the Regulator, Irish Water and other stakeholders, in the context of developing a water pricing framework. The agreed approach to affordability issues will then be reflected in the charging structure established by the Regulator. N o decision ha s yet been taken on the level of, or the approach to, the free allowance.

Under the European Communities (Drinking Water) (No. 2) Regulations, 2007, all suppliers of drinking water are required to ensure that the water supplied is wholesome and clean. Water suppliers are required to comply with the chemical and microbiological parameters set out in the Regulations. Hard water is not included as a parameter in the quality standards specified in the Regulations, as it does not pose as a threat to human health, nor indeed are the substances associated with hard water, such as lime, calcium and magnesium.