Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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574. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government with regard to Irish Water and allowances for children if he will indicate the way in which the allowances will apply where a child spends half the time with one parent and half with the other; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36970/14]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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588. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will consider extending the under 18s water allowance to third-level students living in the family home. [37122/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 574 and 588 together.

With effect from 1 January 2014, Irish Water is responsible for public water services. The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water can collect charges from its customers in receipt of water services provided by it. 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 proposed approach to charging was outlined by Irish Water in a water charges plan which it submitted to the CER in line with the provisions of the Act. The CER recently held a public consultation on this plan which covered a range of issues relating to water charges and allowances. The CER has today issued a determination on the water charges plan and details are available on the CER website (). The water charges plan provides that the children’s water allowance will only apply to the address at which a child is registered for the purposes of receiving child benefit, unless the registered occupier provides approval to transfer.

In making its determination on the water charges plan, the CER had to take account of the decisions made by the Government on the funding model for Irish Water and a direction made under Section 42 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act in July 2014. This policy direction addressed a number of matters relating to domestic water charges including the provision of a free allowance of 30,000 litres of water supplied and waste water treated per annum for a primary residence on a public supply and a free allowance to cover the normal usage of water services by every child in their primary residence based on the same qualifying conditions as the child benefit allowance . There are no plans to provide additional allowances, other than those announced in the Government decision.