Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 January 2015
221. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the correspondence his Department has had to date with EUROSTAT in respect of the off-balance sheet test; if concerns have been raised with his Department on the issue by EUROSTAT; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3038/15]
View answerA key component of the strategy to establish Irish Water is that Irish Water will be classified as a Market Corporation under Eurostat rules and as a result, will not, other than in relation to Government operating subvention, be included in the calculation of the General Government Balance (GGB). The Market Corporation Test is a requirement that income from customers be greater than 50% of production costs.
The Central Statistics Office is responsible for engagement with Eurostat on such matters, and my Department is providing the necessary information to facilitate this work.
