Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 October 2014
220. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if there will be provisions or reliefs introduced for farmers in respect of paying water charges, considering they use a large volume of water for feeding animals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38397/14]
View answerSince 2001, national water pricing policy has required local authorities to recover the costs of providing water services from all non-domestic users of these services, including farms. This policy provided for charges based on actual metered consumption and is consistent with the requirements of the Water Framework Directive.
With 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 submitted to the CER in line with the provisions of the Act. The CER recently held a public consultation on this plan which covered a range of issues relating to water charges. Last week, the CER issued a determination on the water charges plan. Full details and associated documentation are available on the CER website ( www.cer.ie ).
Currently, any farm connected to a public water supply is liable for charges as a non-domestic customer, with an allowance provided for domestic use. Following the introduction of domestic water charges, farms connected to public water supplies will be charged by Irish Water for both non-domestic and domestic use, subject to the free allowances to be provided to households and qualified children by Irish Water.
It should be noted that the existing arrangements for all non-domestic customers are remaining in place with no changes for the time being. On this basis, the local authorities will continue to bill for non-domestic water services as agents of Irish Water. The CER will be reviewing all aspects of non-domestic water tariffs under a series of public consultations and will publish the time-line for this process before the end of 2014.
Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. They may be contacted via email at oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on 1890 278 278.
