Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 April 2016
795. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the reason for the justification for Irish Water charging a flat charge of €125 on second homes; his views on the way in which the imposition of a flat charge encourages water conservation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6942/16]
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 shall collect charges from its customers in receipt of water services provided by it. All dwellings connected to the public water or waste water systems are liable for domestic water charges. 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.
Section 3 of the Water Services Act 2014 provides that where a dwelling in receipt of services from Irish Water is unoccupied that the dwelling shall be liable to a charge of not more than €260 for receipt of both water and wastewater services, i.e. the supply of water to a dwelling and the removal of wastewater from it. The Water Charges Plan approved by the CER sets the minimum rate at €125 per annum and the maximum rate at €260 per annum for both water and waste water services where a not permanently occupied dwelling has been registered with Irish Water. A lower minimum charge of €62.50 and maximum charge of €125 applies if the dwelling is in receipt of a single service.
The use of capped charges rather than a flat charge supports water conservation as metered users of water services can beat the capped charge through efficient use of water. In the case of not permanently occupied dwellings, metered users through conservation measures can ensure that their annual charge does not exceed the minimum charge of €125 for both water and wastewater services. More generally, it is estimated that over 40% of metered households are currently beating the relevant capped charge.
