Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 September 2014
238. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the reason Irish Water will be charging customers additional fees for services such as investigating leaks, determining problems with water pressure and correcting meter readings; the regulation and control over these charges that will be in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35003/14]
View answerWith effect from 1 January 2014, Irish Water is responsible for public water services. The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water can collect charges from its customers in receipt of water services provided by it. The Act also provides that responsibility for the independent economic regulation of the water sector is assigned to the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) and the CER has been given statutory responsibility for protecting the interests of customers.
The proposed approach to charging was outlined by Irish Water in a water charges plan which it has submitted to the CER in line with the provisions of the Act. As part of this plan, Irish Water has made a proposal to apply charges where it provides additional services at the request of customers. The CER recently held a public consultation on the water charges plan and is currently reviewing submissions received on the consultation with a view to making a final determination later this month . Full details of the CER public consultation are available on www.cer.ie.
Local authorities have previously charged non-domestic customers for additional services and the same charges will continue to apply for non-domestic customers until a decision is made by the CER on all aspects of non-domestic charging. A timeline for the establishment of an enduring tariff framework for non-domestic customers is to be outlined by the CER by end 2014.
