John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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401. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the amount of current and capital funding being made available for Irish Water in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44743/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services was published on 12 April 2017 and approved by both Houses of the Oireachtas. The Government recently approved the recommendations of the Report of the Working Group on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services, which, consistent with the recommendations of report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee, primarily involve, inter alia, all State funding to Irish Water in respect of domestic water services as determined through the regulatory process being channeled in future through my Department's Vote. The future funding of Irish Water in respect of domestic water services will therefore be from general taxation, in the form of a payment for domestic water services, based on the purchase of water covering the entirety of domestic water consumption other than excessive use and a contribution to replace the financing of the domestic component of capital investment previously funded by debt and a capital contribution from Central Funds.

A current funding provision of €114m for the revenue shortfall from the suspension/abolition of domestic water charges is being provided through my Department’s Vote in 2018 as part of the Abridged Estimates process with the balance already reflected in the subvention provided through the Local Government Fund (some €239m is required on an annual basis to meet the abolition of water charges). The overall funding of Irish Water in 2018 in respect of domestic water services is being finalised as part of the consequential reform of the Local Government Fund and the Revised Estimates process. In overall terms, some €1.1 billion will be required by Irish Water to meet the cost of domestic water services in 2018, of which €500m relates to capital investment, the latter representing the major component of the overall planned capital investment of over €600m in cash terms by Irish Water in 2018.