Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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48. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason the original service level agreements between local authorities and Irish Water that would have retained the services of local authority waterworks personnel to Irish Water up to 2026 have been amended; if local authority waterworks personnel will be asked to transfer to Irish Water within the next year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45286/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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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. The Water Services Strategic Plan - A Plan for the Future of Water Services (WSSP), which was published in October 2015, set out strategic objectives for the delivery of water services for 25 years up to 2040. The WSSP committed to the preparation of Business Plans by Irish Water to set out targets for delivery of efficiencies in operational and capital expenditure and performance targets consistent with the delivery of the objectives of the WSSP.

The Irish Water Business Plan - Transforming Water Services in Ireland to 2021 was published in late 2015. It set the priorities for the utility to 2021 and underpins the transformation plan for the water sector to a single utility model. The plan was considered by Government and was approved subject to budgetary and regulatory review. The Water Services Bill 2017 contains provisions for the establishment of a Water Advisory Body (WAB). The WAB  is being established to advise on measures needed to improve the transparency and accountability of Irish Water. The body will report on a quarterly basis to an Oireachtas Committee on the performance of Irish Water on the implementation of its business plan.

The Confidence and Supply Arrangement in support of the minority Government has confirmed the retention of Irish Water as a single national utility in public ownership, responsible for the delivery of water and waste water services. 

Since 2013, working through Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with the local authorities, Irish Water has made significant progress in establishing the utility capability, which has included investing over €2 billion in the system to date. Over the past year, significant design phase work has been undertaken on the development of a transformation plan, in line with the Business Plan objectives. Flowing from this, I have been informed by Ervia (which has responsibility for Irish Water), that they consider that the public water system will benefit significantly by greater integration of operations into the single utility. Consequently, the Ervia Board has agreed in principle not to renew the SLAs beyond 2025 when they are due to end, and to move to a full integrated public utility operations model. The Water Services Acts already provide the necessary protections for terms and conditions, and pensions, of local authority staff working under the SLAs in such circumstances. It is the intention of Ervia to work with local authorities to manage this change within the life of the current Business Plan (i.e. by end of 2021).

A process of engagement with local authorities on the proposed next steps on the transformation plan has now commenced. The SLAs between Irish Water and local authorities have not been amended and remain in place until such time as an alternative is agreed.