Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 January 2018
1793. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the funding his Department will be providing to Irish Water in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1431/18]
View answerThe report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services was published in April 2017 and approved by both Houses of the Oireachtas. The Government approved in September 2017 the recommendations of the Report of the Working Group on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services, which, consistent with the recommendations of report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee, primarily involve, inter alia, all State funding to Irish Water in respect of domestic water services, as determined through the regulatory process, being channelled in future through my Department's Vote. The future funding of Irish Water in respect of domestic water services will therefore be from general taxation, in the form of a payment for domestic water services, based on the purchase of water covering the entirety of domestic water consumption, other than excessive use, and a contribution to replace the financing of the domestic component of capital investment previously funded by debt and a capital contribution from Central Funds.
A funding provision of €1.1 billion is provided through my Department’s Vote in 2018 as part of the recently published Revised Estimates to meet the cost of domestic water services by Irish Water in 2018, of which €500m relates to capital investment, the latter representing the major component of the overall planned capital investment of over €600m in cash terms by Irish Water in 2018.
