Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent)
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234. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Questions No. 239 and 240 of 6 November 2014, if he will list all members of the steering group for the water sector reform programme; the way these members were appointed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43679/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The steering group was established in June 2011 to oversee the independent assessment on the transfer of responsibility for water provision from local authorities to a water utility which was required under the Programme of Financial Support for Ireland with the EU/IMF/ECB. The group is chaired by my Department at Assistant Secretary level.As well as my own Department, membership is drawn from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, NewERA, the County and City Management Association and the Water Services Transition Office (Local Authorities).

The group oversaw the preparation of the independent assessment and, based on the recommendations of that assessment, the Government decided in December 2011 to establish Irish Water as a public water utility. Following the Government decision in April 2012 that Irish Water should be established as an independent subsidiary of Bord Gáis É ireann, membership of the group was extended to include representative s of Bord Gáis and Irish Water.

At this point the group ’s main focus was the development of the implementation strategy to give effect to Government decisions in relation to the water reform programme. This included consideration of the appropriate programme governance arrangements for the implementation phase. Over time the group’s role has evolved and its primary functioncurrently is high level oversight of the water r eform a genda.