Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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304. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the protocol for dealing with disruptions to water supplies; the procedure in place by Irish Water to inform householders as to the measures that have been taken to rectify the situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27842/14]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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305. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the reason a person (details supplied) in County Donegal received a call from Irish Water asking if their water supply issue was resolved three days after they had been notified by the householder that their water supply was non-existent; the reason for the delay in contacting the householder and his views on whether this is acceptable for Irish Water; and if he will take steps to ensure that there is an appropriate procedure in place. [27843/14]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 304 and 305 together.

Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. The protocol for dealing with disruptions to water supplies is an operational matter for Irish Water and one in which I have no function.

The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that responsibility for the independent economic regulation of the water sector is assigned to the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) and the CER has been given statutory responsibility for protecting the interests of customers.  The Act requires the CER to perform its functions in a manner that best serves the interests of the customers of Irish Water. This is similar to the CER’s statutory role in respect of the gas and electricity sectors.

Irish Water has confirmed to my Department that it has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. The team can be contacted via an email to or by telephone on 1890 278 278.