asked the Minister for the Environment the grounds for charging a water rate in the County Dublin local authority area for water supplied by Dublin Corporation when residents in the corporation area are not liable to a water rate; and when it is proposed to abolish the anomaly of having water rates charged when domestic rates have been abolished.
Written Answers. - Water Rates.
850.
In urban areas, the rates for various purposes were consolidated into a single municipal rate by the Local Government (Dublin) Act, 1930, the City and County Management Acts passed between 1934 and 1941 and the Local Government Act, 1946. As a result of this legislation and a subsequent clarifying provision of the local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1962, specific charges for water could no longer be made by urban authorities, including Dublin Corporation, in respect of domestic water supplies to dwellings within their areas. Urban authorities can, however, make charges for water supplied to non-domestic consumers within their areas and for both domestic and non-domestic supplies to consumers outside the urban areas.
The statutes referred to in effect left the position unchanged in county health districts, including the functional area of Dublin County Council, where specific charges may apply for water supplied for domestic as well as non-domestic purposes. The commitment to abolish county and municipal rates on dwellings did not extend to separate charges for services including water charges.