Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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497. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the amount budgeted in his Department’s accounts in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 for Irish Water; the amount drawn down; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3556/14]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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510. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of expenditure provided directly to Irish Water in 2013 from the local government fund; and the projected amount from the fund to be allocated to Irish Water in 2014. [3715/14]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 497 and 510 together.

Irish Water was established, following the passage of the Water Services Act, 2013 during 2013. The delivery of water services under a public utility model is expected to bring benefits in terms of access to new sources of revenue to fund greater investment in water services infrastructure and provide more efficient and better quality of service for customers. To date the majority of the costs of water services provision have been met by the Exchequer and by local authorities from their own resources and general purpose grants, with some income from the commercial sector.

My Department provided a grant of €0.57m to Irish Water in 2013 to fund the cost of a pilot study in relation to Phase 2 of the Water Metering Programme which is targeted at metering those properties that were not meterable in the Phase 1 Programme. My Department did not provide any other funding to Irish Water and Irish Water did not receive any monies from the Local Government Fund in 2013. The Revised Estimates Volume for Public Services 2014 provides an amount of €490m for Irish Water from the Local Government Fund in 2014; the final outturn figure for 2014 will be slightly less at €486.5m. This amount will fund water related expenditures incurred heretofore by local authorities, and met by them from their own resources and general purpose grants.

In 2014, Irish Water will also receive €240m in equity from the Minister for Finance. Irish Water is currently preparing a Capital Investment Plan for 2014 – 2016 that will provide for the transition of projects previously included in my Department’s 2010 - 2013 Water Services Investment Programme.