Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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169. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the work that has been done or is being planned by Irish Water in the area of rainwater harvesting; his views on the potential benefits of rainwater harvesting in view of the huge amount of rainfall in recent times; his views that increased efficiency in this area could help to reduce utility bills for consumers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8766/14]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I am fully supportive of all technologies which contribute to the conservation of water. Rainwater harvesting has the potential to contribute to reducing the cost of water services for certain uses as well as benefiting the environment.

Irish Water has an overall remit to promote water conservation. The use of water meters whereby the household will be charged for the amount of water they use will encourage greater efficiency and water conservation. On this basis, using rainwater collected via a rainwater harvesting system for some 30% of water usage where drinking water quality is not required such as flushing toilets, watering gardens, etc. should assist in reducing utility bills for consumers.

The cost of installing a rainwater harvesting system to a property is dependent on the roof, guttering and downpipe layout and on the level of alterations required to internal plumbing. It will be a matter for the property owner to decide, once the tariff structure for water charges is known later this year, how cost-effective such installations would be.