Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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254. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his views on correspondence (details supplied) in relatiton to water charges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36164/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides Irish Water with the power to charge customers in respect of the services provided. The Act also 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 defines the customer as the occupier of the premises in respect of which the water services are provided. It also provides, unless the contrary is proved, that the owner of a premises is also the occupier of the premises. Irish Water is currently undertaking a customer verification exercise to obtain the details of customers in receipt of services from Irish Water.

The Act also requires that Irish Water prepare codes of practice on a range of matters, including standards in relation to the performance by Irish Water of its functions and billing by Irish Water of persons in respect of water services provided.The CER recently held a public consultation which covered a range of issues, including a number of proposed payment options.The CER is currently reviewing submissions received on the consultation and a determination will be made by the CER later this month. Full details of the CER public consultation are available on .

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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255. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update on negotiations between his Department and Irish Water regarding the taking in charge of housing estates (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36173/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Section 180 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 provides that where an estate is completed to the satisfaction of the planning authority in accordance with the planning permission (and any conditions attached to the permission), the planning authority must initiate taking in charge procedures as soon as possible following a request to do so by the developer or by the majority of the owners. Similarly, where an estate has not been completed to the standard outlined in the planning permission and the planning authority has not taken enforcement action within seven years of the expiry of the permission authorising the development, section 180 also provides that the planning authority must initiate taking in charge procedures if requested to do so by the owners of the units concerned. The decision as to whether an estate should be taken in charge is ultimately one for the elected members of the planning authority.

Section 180 was amended in the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010 to provide that a local authority may take in charge an unfinished estate, at the request of the owners of the housing units, at any time after the expiration of the planning permission, in situations where enforcement actions have commenced or where the local authority considers that enforcement action will not result in the satisfactory completion of the estate by the developer.

Contrary to certain misunderstandings that may exist, there is no specific legal impediment to the taking in charge of water services infrastructure by local authorities. The Water Services Acts 2013, which provided for the transfer of water services functions to Irish Water, did not alter the role of planning authorities in relation to planning legislation. The potential to streamline this process for the future is currently under review.

In Circular Letter PL 21/13, issued by my Department to planning authorities on 30 December 2013 in the light of the transfer of certain statutory water services functions from local authorities to Irish Water with effect from 1 January 2014, it was stated that legislative amendments to further clarify the existing provisions on the taking in charge of housing estates would be made in 2014.

In order to clarify the current up-to-date position with regard to the taking in charge of estates, my Department will shortly issue a further circular letter to planning authorities with a view to clearing up any misunderstandings that may exist in this regard.

My Department has no responsibility for, or role to play in, the day to day management, maintenance or operation of water or waste water infrastructure. However, it is aware of problems with some water services infrastructure that was provided by developers and which is not connected to the public network. My Department is currently considering what long-term solutions might be appropriate in such cases and is engaging with local authorities, including Cork County Council, regarding possible approaches to deal with these cases.