Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 92 and 126 together.

The version of the Circular referred to was a draft which issued inadvertently, which was immediately withdrawn at the instigation of my Department. The final Circular L4/18 was subsequently issued on 28 September 2018. This is an administrative circular from my Department concerning the ongoing process of transfer of water services assets from local authorities to Irish Water. The reference cited by the Deputy only appeared in the original uncleared and withdrawn draft and does not represent my position or that of my Department in respect of the proposed transformation programme for Irish Water. Clarification on this point has been provided where sought by Union representatives.

My Department provides funding to local authorities to facilitate the asset transfer process and the purpose of this administrative circular is to provide advice to local authorities in order to minimise the fees, to the extent possible, in respect of legal and Property Registration Authority costs for the first registration of water services asset property folios. The water services assets are transferred by Ministerial Orders, with Irish Water registering the water services assets with the Property Registration Authority.

I have set out the position in relation to the transformation process in my reply to Question No. 73 on today's Order Paper.