Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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666. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if the working group being set up by him to examine the investment needs of rural water and wastewater services will examine the disparity of State investment in the capital and maintenance costs of wastewater systems for those rural dwellers who provide their own wastewater services as compared to those that are connected to an Irish Water system; his plans to publish the terms of reference of the working group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11522/18]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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In late 2017, my Department conducted a review of the subsidies paid towards the operational and management costs of group water schemes providing water to their domestic members. The review involved discussions with the National Federation of Group Water Schemes, the representative body of the group water sector.  Discussions concluded in December, when I approved revised subsidy levels.  The new subsidy arrangements, endorsed by a special delegate conference of the Federation on 13 December 2017, came into effect on 1 January 2018.

The increase in the level of subsidies is one of a number of actions taken to implement the recommendation contained in the report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services (JOCFFDWS), endorsed by both Houses of the Oireachtas in April 2017, that there be equity of treatment and equivalent financial support between households using public water services and those availing of private water services. 

Separate to the initial review of group water scheme subsidy levels and also in fulfilment of the JOCFFDWS recommendations, I will shortly be establishing a working group to conduct a wider review of investment needs and rural water services.

It is intended that the review will focus on improving and sustaining rural water services and will consider issues such as governance, supervision and monitoring of the sector, in addition to capital investment priorities and requirements across the Sector.

In keeping with the Committee’s recommendations the working group will consider all elements and aspects of rural water services including Group Water Schemes, Group Sewerage Schemes, those using Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systems (more commonly known as septic tanks) and Individual Domestic Water Supplies (more commonly known as private or individual wells) and with specific emphasis on the actions and investment required, "to equalise treatment between those availing of domestic water services and those availing of private services", as recommended in the JOCFFDWS report.

My Department is currently considering the Terms of Reference for the Working Group, and I expect that these will be published shortly.