Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 February 2014
144. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will indicate the terms of all leases for premises entered into by Irish Water in respect of its office accommodation including the rental amounts, term, break-clauses and all other relevant information; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8527/14]
View answerMy Department has asked Irish Water to put in place specific arrangements to address the queries which public representatives may have in relation to matters pertaining to the operation of water services under the new utility. I understand that Irish Water will be in contact with Oireachtas members during the course of this week to outline the arrangements for addressing such queries in a timely manner. In the meantime, Irish Water has confirmed to me that the property procurement process for the company is currently ongoing and is at various stages from the initial property search, to evaluation of properties, negotiation of heads of terms and completion of legalities. Until such time as all legalities are complete, Irish Water is not in a position to make this information publically available. Irish Water has agreed with my Department that, where accommodation needs arise, every effort will be made to utilise existing facilities which are or may become fully or partly vacant as a result of the changes in local authority functions, whether such facilities are in the ownership of or are leased to local authorities. In accordance with Part 12 of the Property Services Regulation Act 2011, Irish Water will be submitting details of leases to the Property Services Regulatory Authority for entry on the publically available Commercial Property Leases Database.
