Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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303. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the way he intends to honour the commitments given in Irish Water's capital plan out until 2021; the areas from which the funding for this will come from; and if it will have an impact on other capital programmes across Government. [17752/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for a Partnership Government reflects the overall commitment to Irish Water's capital investment of €5.5 billion to end 2021, as set out in Irish Water’s Business Plan 2014-2021. The Irish Water Business Plan is based on the domestic charging regime as provided for in the Water Services Act 2014. The Plan was considered by Government in October 2015, and was approved subject to normal regulatory and budgetary review. Some €1.7 billion has been expended to the end of 2016, leaving €3.8 billion to be spent in the period 2017-2021.

Irish Water’s capital programme is currently funded by a mix of debt, equity and funding from operations (i.e. customer revenue including that provided by the State operational subvention which is equivalent to the purchase of water on behalf of domestic customers relating to a product subsidy, capped charges and child allowance).

In December 2016, the CER made a decision on the second regulatory period 2017-2018 setting allowed revenue for this period, including proposals on operational and capital budgets. A copy of the CER's decision is available on its website, www.cer.ie.  

The future funding of Irish Water is currently under review by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services in its consideration of the Report of the Expert Commission on Domestic Public Water Services for the sustainable long term-funding model for the delivery of domestic water and waste water services by Irish Water. Any decisions on the State’s contribution and an assessment of the impacts any changes in funding for Irish Water will have on other capital programmes across Government can only be made once the Oireachtas Committee has published its report and its recommendations have been considered by the Oireachtas.