Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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310. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will clarify the water charges for different persons (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38967/14]

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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314. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding water charges for a person (details supplied) in Dublin 9; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38996/14]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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346. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if persons in nursing homes are obliged to pay a vacant house water charge; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39249/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 310, 314 and 346 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 CER has now issued a determination on the water charges plan submitted to it by Irish Water. Full details and associated documentation are available on the CER website at .

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 2013 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 for child benefit, while customers with specific medical conditions which require increased water consumption will have their charges capped.

Irish Water has submitted analysis of water consumption patterns in Ireland to the CER and details of this are available on the CER website. The analysis is based on actual metered data and follow-on surveys with over 3,000 houses and it confirms that average consumption for a household is 66,000 litres per year for the first occupant and an average further 21,000 litres for each additional occupant. Data on consumption patterns will continue to be provided by Irish Water to the CER on a regular basis.

In its determination, the CER has decided that all customers will have their total water charges capped at the unmetered “assessed charge” for 9 months. The cap will apply from the start date of the next billing period after installation of the meter or 1 October 2014, whichever is the later.

In addition to the above, the Government has agreed to put in place further affordability measures to assist pensioners, persons with disabilities, and carers who receive the Household Benefits Package. The conditions and administrative approach to this additional measure are being developed by the Department of Social Protection.

Section 21 of the 2013 Act requires Irish Water to charge each customer for the provision by it of water services and therefore there are no exemptions from water charges for local authority tenants. For a domestic property that is not permanently occupied, the owner of the premises will be required to pay a minimum charge for water supply and for wastewater per service.

Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. They may be contacted via email at

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Rural Resettlement Ireland Limited is a housing body approved under Section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992 for the purpose of the provision of housing relief. Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) consist mainly of voluntary or co-operative organisations registered under the Companies Acts, societies registered under the Industrial & Provident Societies Acts and/or Trusts incorporated under the Charities Acts. Compliance with the overall objectives of a body is a matter, in the just instance, for the body’s Board and Management. Rural Resettlement Ireland Limited has, in the past, received funding under both the Capital Assistance and Capital Loan and Subsidy Schemes. My Department’s role in relation to capital funding schemes for AHBs relates primarily to the provision of funds to support the annual construction and housing acquisitions programmes by the AHB concerned. It is a matter for the relevant housing authority to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of the schemes and to have appropriate oversight and liaison arrangements in place for the effective administration of the schemes and for ensuring that the investment in voluntary housing is safeguarded.

This Government is committed to better regulation of the AHB sector. In July 2013, Building for the Future a voluntary regulation code for the approved housing body (AHB) sector was published. In February 2014 an interim Regulatory Committee was established to oversee the implementation of the code and to advise on the development of statutory regulation. A Regulation Office has also been established within the Housing Agency to manage the day to day functions of implementing the voluntary code. To date, just over 160 AHBs have signed up to the code and further details are available on the Agency’s website at .

In July 2014, the Government approved the preparation of the Heads of a Bill to provide for the statutory regulation and governance of AHBs. I expect that the finalised Heads of the Bill will be ready for submission to Government early in 2015. The interim period of voluntary regulation will be a valuable source of information as to the scope and final content of the Bill.