Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 January 2016
85. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Taoiseach when EUROSTAT will next make a determination as to whether Irish Water meets the criteria as an off-balance-sheet entity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45981/15]
View answerSector classification decisions for the purpose of the National Accounts are made in accordance with the rules of the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA 2010). A decision on the classification of Irish Water was published by Eurostat in July 2015 based on their appraisal of the Irish Water business plan, as presented to them, in the context of these rules. The classification of Irish Water for future years will be dealt with as part of the review of the register of public sector and general government bodies undertaken annually by CSO. Under the normal rules for the classification of publicly controlled bodies, any reconsideration of the market/non-market nature of these bodies is based on observed data over a number of years (generally 3 years).
One factor in the Eurostat decision on Irish Water was their view of the uncertainty of the business case projections. Therefore it may be possible to begin a review of the classification decision as actual results become available, and CSO will be following up on this with Eurostat in 2016. In line with the normal rules for sector classification it would be possible to consider classifying Irish Water as a market entity only when sales are observed to exceed 50% of costs on a consistent basis.
