Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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168. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if the Ombudsman has a remit over the delivery of water services by local authorities under service level agreements with Irish Water, as these services were previously under the remit of the Ombudsman; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8379/15]

Alan 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 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.

The approach taken to dispute resolution for customers of Irish Water is consistent with the general approach for commercial State companies and recognises that Irish Water is working in a different regulatory framework than that which obtained prior to 1 January 2014. It was a policy decision of the Government to establish Irish Water as a public utility and this is reflected in the Water Services Acts 2013.

Section 32 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water shall submit a code or codes of practice to the CER for approval and the CER may modify any such code. A code of practice made under section 32 can include,inter alia, a provision for customer complaints to Irish Water in relation to provision of water services, the standards for the performance by Irish Water of its functions and any other matter the CER considers necessary and appropriate to secure the interests of customers of Irish Water. In discharging its functions, the CER may consult with Irish Water, the public, or any other person it considers appropriate.  Irish Water also has a statutory obligation to comply with any direction from the CER in relation to the approved codes. Irish Water’s approved codes of practice can be found on its website at:

Similar to the approach it has taken in the electricity and gas industries, the CER has required Irish Water to submit a Customer Handbook outlining the minimum requirements of customer service standards they will provide to their customers. The Customer Handbook comprises Irish Water’s Customer Charter, Codes of Practice and the Terms and Conditions of supply. Following a public consultation on the document, the CER published the approved Irish Water Customer Handbook in August 2014. On 17th February 2015, the CER published a revised version of the Irish Water Customer Handbook which takes account of changes required following the enactment of the Water Services Act 2014. The revised handbook is available on the CER website at:



The Water Services Act 2014 provides that there will be a statutory basis for the investigation by the CER of customer complaints, which Irish Water has not resolved. This will be similar to the service operated by the Commission for the gas and electricity markets. An updated Irish Water Code of Practice on Complaint Handling has been sent to the CER for approval, to reflect the legislative change.

In addition, the CER will be engaging with both Irish Water and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop complementary complaints processes to ensure customers are directed in an efficient manner to the appropriate organisation with their complaint or query. In this regard, it should be noted that Irish Water is also subject to statutory supervision by the EPA and the Health Service Executive in respect of any environmental and human health aspects of its water services provision.