Written answers

Thursday, 5 February 2015

Department of Environment, Community and Local Government

Irish Water Consultative Group

Photo of Lucinda CreightonLucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent)
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269. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the persons who attended all meetings of the Irish Water consultative group SLA sub-group, including not just members of this group but also non-members; and if he will provide minutes of all these meetings. [5277/15]

Photo of Lucinda CreightonLucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent)
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270. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the organisation that took the decision to extend the Irish Water SLA beyond 2017 that is Irish Water; Bord Gáis or his Department. [5278/15]

Photo of Lucinda CreightonLucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent)
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280. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the names of all persons present at the 18 April 2013 meeting of the Irish Water consultation group; if he will confirm that the extension of the service level agreements with councils was a pre-condition for the councils to undertake the necessary fact finding mission as suggested in the memo for the 18 April 2013 meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5347/15]

Photo of Alan KellyAlan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 269, 270 and 280 together.

The meetings of the Service Level Agreement (SLA) sub group of the Irish Water Consultative Group was part of an industrial relations process to facilitate an exchange of views on issues surrounding the SLA. As was the agreed procedure for such meetings, minutes were not taken with the agreed outcome being communicated to the relevant parties by the Chair of the Irish Water Consultative Group, Mr Kevin Foley. This approach is adopted generally to meetings facilitated by the Labour Relations Commission. The agreed framework for SLAs is available on the Department’s website at the following link

On the management side, my Department was represented along with the Local Government Management Agency, Local Authority Management, Irish Water and the Water Services Transition Office. The staff side was represented by ICTU and member unions.

The concept of a service level agreement (SLA) was an essential ingredient of the transition plan proposed by the Independent Assessmentconducted by PWC in 2011 on the question of establishing Irish Water. PWC recommended this approach over a “big bang” transfer of all staff and functions, taking account of relevant labour laws, as this would allow Irish Water to implement a fit for purpose organisation structure without the constraints of the existing local authority system. The Service Level Agreement would ensure continuity of service based on the local authority knowledge of assets and operations and would be most likely to deliver efficiencies earlier, reduce the risk of failure and maintain security of supply during the transition.

The unwinding of these interim arrangements were, in PWC’s view, a matter to be determined by Irish Water in consultation with my Department and local authorities. While they recommended that the SLA would conclude by the end of 2017, they acknowledged that Irish Water might wish to enter into longer term agreements with local authorities for specific purposes.

Following public consultation on this report, the Government agreed and published the implementation strategy for the water sector reform programme. This implementation strategy acknowledged the potential scope for local authorities to continue to act as agents of Irish Water beyond 2017. The strategy identified the need for engagement with staff on the reform programme, given its scale and complexity, and the implications for the staff concerned.

All discussions at the Irish Water Consultative Group were set in this context and were reflected in the positions adopted by the management side. The management side would not have agreed to the framework, unless the management side was satisfied that it would provide an appropriate mechanism to meet the Government’s objectives in reforming thewater sector by improving its efficiency and effectiveness and increasing capital investment would be achieved.

The final proposition of a 12 year SLA was considered important in delivering on these aims and was balanced with providing greater certainty to local authority staff. The SLA term, within a broader framework, was an important backdrop to local authorities embracing the change required and investing time and effort in underpinning an enduring relationship with the new utility, whilst ensuring that accompanying measures provide for the establishment of a high performing water utility on a timely basis with benefits accruing to the customer. The SLA provides for the agreement of annual service plans which deal with issues such as transformational change and headcount. The number of staff employed under the SLA has decreased by 10% in the first year of operation of Irish Water.

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