Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

298. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of moneys lost to local authorities in 2015 from the de-rating of Irish Water; the compensation made to local authorities through increases in the local government fund to offset these losses in 2015 in tabular form; and if these payments will be made again in 2016 and on a rolling basis into the future. [20528/16]

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

299. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the total savings to Irish Water arising from the de-rating of the utility in 2015; the total savings to the utility arising from de-rating in 2016; the portion of the total efficiency savings the de-rating saving represents by Irish Water in 2015 and 2016; and the rationale for de-rating Irish Water when other public utilities are not de-rated. [20529/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 298 and 299 together.

Section 12 of the Water Services Act 2014 states that public water services property is not rateable for the purposes of the Valuation Act 2001. This exemption applies to Irish Water for the provision of water supply and waste water treatment. Government subvention is not paid directly to Irish Water to fund this cost; instead, it is redirected to provide equivalent funding directly to local authorities, through the Local Government Fund, in respect of rates income forgone.

As such, local authorities have been compensated to the amount of over €46m in both 2015 and 2016 in respect of rates income foregone in respect of Irish Water's infrastructure. A breakdown of the amounts paid to local authorities in 2015 and 2016 is set out in the table below. It would be expected that similar amounts would be provided to local authorities in 2017, subject to the normal budgetary process.

Rates expenditure was considered by the Commission for Energy Regulation to be an ‘uncontrollable’ or pass through cost for Irish Water. By introducing an exemption from rates for any land or infrastructure used for the provision of public water services, this pass through cost will no longer form part of Irish Water’s operational expenditure and would therefore not have to be passed onto the customer.