Written answers

Wednesday, 15 October 2014

Department of Environment, Community and Local Government

Irish Water Administration

Photo of Robert TroyRobert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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144. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government in view of the reservations persons have regarding declaring children's PPS details on the Irish Water application form, if he will engage with the Department of Social Protection to see if it would it be possible for the child benefit section to issue a certificate of declaration proving that the parent was in receipt of child benefit in respect of this child turning 18 thereby confirming they were entitled to a supplement for the child from Irish Water. [39419/14]

Photo of Michael McCarthyMichael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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150. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his views on the length of time Irish Water will retain customers personal public service numbers and personal details after these details and allowances are validated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39450/14]

Photo of Alan KellyAlan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 144 and 150 together.

Under the Water Services Acts 2007-2013, Irish Water may request its customers and certain specified persons or bodies, including the Minister for Social Protection, to provide it with information so that it can perform its functions under these Acts. The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water is responsible for public water services and that it shall 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, the CER, which has been given statutory responsibility for protecting the interests of customers of Irish Water.

Over the last number of weeks, Irish Water has been sending application packs to approximately 2 million households, which refer to the effective charging date and the fact that billing for domestic customers in receipt of public water services will start in January 2015. The application process will enable customers to confirm their details for billing and, by providing the relevant PPS numbers, claim the allowances for which they are eligible. Irish Water will treat applicants’ personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003. In complying with these Acts, Irish Water must ensure that the data is only used for the purpose for which it was collected and must also ensure that any data collected is stored securely. Irish Water has an ongoing engagement with the Data Protection Commission who has worked closely with Irish Water to agree the process for the capture, storage and usage of customer data.

The collection of PPS numbers allows Irish Water to confirm and validate the entitlement to allowances for each customer. This information will not be shared with any organisation other than the Department of Social Protection for the purpose of verification, to ensure that each household receives the allowances it is entitled to, be it the free allowance per household or any additional allowance for children in receipt of Child Benefit at that address. I understand that Irish Water and the Department of Social Protection are developing arrangements governing the sharing of PPS information. Any such arrangements will be subject to data protection requirements.

Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. They may be contacted via email at or by telephone on 1890 278 278.

Photo of Barry CowenBarry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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147. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the provisions Irish Water has for farm holdings already on a meter connected to both commercial and domestic usage and which are now subjected to metered charges for the commercial side and an additional assessed charge on the private residence. [39436/14]

Photo of Alan KellyAlan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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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 shall 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. Any farm connected to a public water supply is liable for charges as a non-domestic customer. If the farm is also used for domestic purposes, it is termed a mixed use customer. Mixed use customers will be billed separately for their domestic and non-domestic water services and will have a separate account number for each. The domestic component of their consumption will be charged at the domestic unmetered charge, based on the number of people living in the home, regardless of whether there is a meter or not. The household and children’s water allowances will be applied subject to the householder completing the application process.

The non-domestic component of their consumption will continue to be charged according to the current non-domestic tariff arrangement. In the case of a metered customer, the volume to be charged at the non-domestic rate will continue to be the metered volume in excess of the current local authority domestic allowance. Current local authority standing charges and unit rates still apply to non-domestic consumption. The CER will be reviewing all aspects of non-domestic water tariffs under a series of public consultations and will publish the time-line for this process before the end of 2014.

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