Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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428. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his views on using section 19 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5178/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Policy Paper on Water Sector Transformation (February, 2021) sets out clearly the approach planned by Government to proceed with the integration of public water services within Irish Water's organisation structure and thereby deliver a publicly owned, stand-alone, regulated, national water utility tasked with modernising and transforming the delivery of water services in Ireland.

There are significant issues for the workforce to be addressed in integrating the day-to-day operation and delivery of water services within Irish Water. To resolve these, I asked the Workplace Relations Commission to engage with all parties aimed at reaching a collective agreement on a Framework for the future delivery of water services. This process is ongoing at present. The Government believes it will be possible to reach a collective agreement which addresses the interests and concerns of all parties.