Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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995. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the reason customers do not have access to their own water meters so as to monitor there own usage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41102/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Irish Water has confirmed to my Department that meter boxes are not sealed and can be opened to allow the householder to read their meter, if necessary. A ll of the water metering contracts are fully compliant with the Disability Act 2005 and the water meters in use by Irish Water comply with the Measuring Instruments Directive . The meters will be read by Irish Water and the information will be provided directly to customers in their bills.

Furthermore, to assist the homeowner in the identification of any leaks Irish Water has confirmed to my Department that water meters being installed as part of the metering programme have a ‘constant flow’ alarm which alerts Irish Water who will in turn alert the affected homeowner. Householders with a meter installed will be provided with a reading of their meter as part of their bill and any unusual usage patterns can be discussed with Irish Water if the householder is concerned.

Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queri es from public representatives and is contacting all Oireachtas members to provide details of an improved level of service which it is aiming to provide. The team can be contacted via email to oireachtasmembers@water.ieor by telephone on a new dedicated number, 1890 5 7 8 578.