Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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90. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if Irish Water is subject to the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42487/14]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Contracts for the supply of water would be considered to come within the scope of the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980.

As the economic regulator for public water services, the Commission for Energy Regulation is required by Part 5 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 to have regard, among other things, to the need to ensure that the customers of Irish Water are provided with the quality of service provided for in a code of practice approved by the Commission. The Commission has published an Irish Water Customer Handbook that includes a Customer Charter, terms and conditions of supply for domestic customers, and Codes of Practice on customer communication, metering, billing, vulnerable customers, network operation and complaint handling. The Charter and the Codes contain specific requirements relating to the consumer protection measures to be put in place by Irish Water.

While the Commission for Energy Regulation has the primary responsibility for protecting the interests of water customers, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission remains responsible for consumer legislation of general application, such as the Consumer Protection Act 2007 and the European Communities (Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts) Regulations 1995 and 2000.