Water Services Funding

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 November 2014

Wednesday, 5 November 2014

Questions (182)

Éamon Ó Cuív

Question:

182. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the changes in funding provided for water/wastewater in the past few years; the details of the funding provided and source of same in each of past five years for such services and if he will provide the figures for same; if he will provide the source of those funds; if he will indicate which legislative provisions of the 1997 Local Government (Financial Provisions) Act have been removed; where that funding has now been allocated; if he will outline all allocations to Irish Water; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42323/14]

Written answers

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government

Prior to 1 January 2014 capital funding for public water services was provided from my Department’s Water Services Investment programme (WSIP) and Rural Water Programme (RWP). The table outlines capital expenditure for 2009– 2013 under each programme.

Year	WSIP - € million	RWP - € million
2009	412	100
2010	407	88
2011	350	79
2012	268	40
2013	241	34

Some €239m is being provided to Irish Water in 2014 in respect of its core capital programme. A capital contribution of €185m was made in August 2014 from Central Fund and a further €54m is expected to be advanced shortly by way of a convertible loan. It is intended that a further €406m will be provided in 2015 and 2016.

Funding for operational expenditure has, in the main, come from the Local Government Fund (LGF). Section 13 of the Local Government Act 1998 repealed Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11 of the Local Government (Financial Provisions) Act 1997. The Local Government Act 1998 provides for the means whereby financial resources are made available to local authorities and provided for the establishment of the Local Government Fund. The Fund has historically provided local authorities with finance for funding some of their day-to-day activities, including elements of water services costs, through General Purpose Grant allocations; for non-national roads; and funding for certain local government initiatives. As a result of the introduction of Local Property Tax in 2013 and the establishment of Irish Water, the local government funding model has changed considerably in 2014. The funding to be provided to local authorities for the provision of water services on behalf of Irish Water in 2014 is governed by Service Level Agreements between Irish Water and individual authorities.

Irish Water will receive a subvention of some €440m from the Local Government Fund in 2014, which will fund water-related expenditures incurred heretofore by local authorities and which would, historically, have been met by local authorities from their own resources, non-domestic water charge revenues and general purpose grants from the Fund. In this regard, €424.5m has been paid to IW to date in 2014.

Funding will also be provided in 2015 and 2016 from the LGF in the order of €537m per annum.