Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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245. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to introduce an incremental instalment payment plan to assist persons in paying the cost of water connection charges that would be considered excessive or are in excess of a predetermined threshold; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24107/18]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The Water Services Acts 2007-2017 set out clearly the arrangements in place for the delivery of water and wastewater services by Irish Water, and for the scrutiny and oversight provisions that apply in respect of these arrangements.  Responsibility for the independent economic regulation of the water sector is assigned to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) and the CRU is required to perform its functions in a manner that best serves the interests of customers of Irish Water.

Under the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 (the Act), and since the 1st January 2014, Irish Water has been responsible for charging for the cost of connections to the water and wastewater network.  Before Irish Water was established local authorities were responsible for connection charging arrangements.

The Act provides that Irish Water shall collect charges from its customers in receipt of water services provided by it in accordance with a water charges plan, to be approved by the CRU. Section 22(5) of the Act provides that a water charges plan may provide for charges in respect of the provision of services connections to premises.  These are responsibilities that are assigned to Irish Water and to the CRU and I do not have a role in directing how any specific payment plan arrangements by individual customers may apply.

I understand that in 2016 the CRU requested Irish Water to submit a proposal for an enduring Connection Charging Policy for customers seeking a connection to the network. In January 2018, the CRU held a public consultation on the development of the Policy for domestic and non-domestic connections to Irish Water’s network, known as a National Connection Charging Policy. The Policy will be aimed at developing a more harmonised methodology for connections to the public water and wastewater network.

The CRU as regulator is independent in this matter and will come to its own independent assessment of the appropriate Water Connections Charging Policy, having heard the view of interested parties through the public consultation process.  As Minister, I must respect the statutory powers and functions which the Oireachtas has conferred on the CRU in this matter.  It is anticipated that the new Water Connections Charging Policy will be finalised by the CRU in the coming months.