Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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22. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding the commitment in the programme for Government regarding the Irish Water networks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3364/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The Programme for Government sets out a commitment to create Irish Water, a new State owned utility, to take over responsibility for Ireland’s public water infrastructure and accelerate the planned investments needed to upgrade the State’s water network. Since 1 January 2014 Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels including the delivery of water services capital infrastructure. Irish Water has published its proposed Capital Investment Plan (CIP) 2014-2016 and this is available online at . The plan outlines a number of priorities to be delivered including improving water quality, tackling leakage, improving capacity and investing for economic development and it identifies where Irish Water considers investment in infrastructure is necessary for the effective performance of its functions.

Under Section 33 of the Water Services (No.2) Act 2013, Irish Water is required to prepare a Water Services Strategic Plan which will outline the objectives of Irish Water in relation to the provision by it of water services up to 2040. The Plan will be a strategic framework which will identify the key objectives required to ensure the public water system can meet future requirements and set out how these objectives will be achieved.

On 1 September 2014 I issued a Direction to Irish Water relating to the form that the Strategic Plan must take. The Plan must have a customer-focused approach with identifiable, time-bound and measurable objectives set out. Irish Water has now published a draft Water Services Strategic Plan which is open for public consultation until 17 April 2015. The draft plan and details of the consultation are available on the Company’s website at . Following this consultation, the draft Plan will be submitted to me, as Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, for approval.