Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 June 2014
152. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a breakdown in tabular form of all staff employed at Irish Water indicating numbers at each grade, the numbers in each department, the previous employment in each department, that is, those originating from the private sector or from a specified Department or local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27789/14]
View answer154. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will indicate the pension liability for all staff working at Irish Water lies, whether employed directly or on secondment; the amount that has been budgeted for pension liabilities in Irish Water’s initial staffing costs; the amount that is expected to be paid from local authorities and/or Government Departments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27796/14]
View answer160. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to detail the total sums paid out by Irish Water to date to external contractors, listing the individual contract in each case, including the name of the contractor, the total sum agreed and the purpose of the contract; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27805/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 152, 154 and 160 together.
Staffing arrangements within Irish Water is an operational matter for the company and one in which I have no function. Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water may appoint staff on terms and conditions as it may from time to time determine. Accordingly, the numbers of staff will depend on the organisational needs of Irish Water and its available budget. I understand from data supplied by the utility to my Department that 485 staff have been recruited up to 25 June 2014; 146 have been recruited from local authorities, 82 from Bord Gáis, 5 from my Department with the remaining 252 recruited externally.
Section 18A of the Water Services Act 2013, as inserted by section 47 of the Gas Regulation Act 2013, governs the establishment of Irish Water pension schemes. The details of the pension schemes are currently being finalised by the utility in conjunction with my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The intention is that pension liabilities of former public sector staff recruited by Irish Water in relation to prior service with the Department and local authorities will not be crystallised liabilities on the balance sheet of the utility; the existing pension liabilities for such service will only become a cost as the employees concerned actually retire.
In terms of external contractors, I understand from Irish Water that some €64.6 million has been expended on external service providers. Decisions on specific operational expenditure are a matter for the company and I have no role in that regard. However, costs incurred by Irish Water will be examined by the Commission for Energy Regulation as an integral element of the independent economic regulation of Irish Water.
Irish Water has confirmed to my Department that it has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. The team can be contacted via an email to oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on 1890 278 278.
