Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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248. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his views on the Commission for Energy Regulation permitting Irish Water to increase water charges after 2019 if revenue is less than Irish Water expects and that Irish Water may retain profits for an extended period without passing these on to consumers through reduced bills; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9657/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provided for the transfer of responsibility for the provision of public water services from the local authorities to Irish Water. The Act provides that Irish Water shall charge each customer for the provision of services provided by it in accordance with a water charges plan to be approved by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER). A new water charging regime was announced by the Government on 19 November 2014. The Water Services Act 2014 provides that the capped annual charges will be €160 for single adult households and €260 for all other households until the end of 2018. The 2014 Act also provides that a capped charge may also be set for 2019 onwards.

The CER has a statutory responsibility for ensuring that the interests of customers of Irish Water are protected. This will be central to the CER’s review of all costs and revenues of Irish Water in the context of the approval of water charges and the overall allowed revenue for Irish Water in future regulatory cycles.