Léim ar aghaidh chuig an bpríomhábhar
Gnáthamharc

Water Services

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 April 2012

Wednesday, 18 April 2012

Ceisteanna (770, 771, 772)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Ceist:

787 Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans regarding the establishment of an Irish water company; the options he is considering, be they amalgamation into an existing semi State, formation of a new company or a private operation and which of these is his preferred option. [17687/12]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Kieran O'Donnell

Ceist:

798 Deputy Kieran O’Donnell asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding the establishment of the Irish Water Authority; the timeframe for its schedule of work to be carried out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17819/12]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Paudie Coffey

Ceist:

828 Deputy Paudie Coffey asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has issued any guidelines or circulars to local authorities offering guidance on the establishment of the new water authorities; the implications for the restructuring and reorganisation of water services departments and staff within local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18201/12]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 787, 798 and 828 together.

The Government decided in December 2011, based on the recommendations of an independent assessment, to establish a public water utility company, Irish Water, to take over the operational and capital delivery functions of local authorities in the water services area.

Further consideration has been given since then as to whether Irish Water should be established as a new entity or whether existing bodies in the Semi State sector could undertake the functions. The outcome of this analysis is that Irish Water should be established as an independent state owned company within the Bord Gáis Group.

Bord Gáis Éireann (BGE) has key capabilities that can be brought to bear in the establishment of Irish Water, including experience in operating as a utility in a regulated environment and a track record in raising finance, and has specific skills from its own experience of transformation, customer relations, network management, metering and utility operation that can be quickly deployed to assist in the successful establishment and operation of Irish Water.

The skills within the Bord Gáis Group will be paired with the experience and commitment to service in local authorities and the specific water and wastewater capabilities and expertise that exist in local government to build the new organisation. The proposed public utility model represents a major change with significant implications for local government, the water industry in Ireland and its many stakeholders. A high level plan set out in the independent assessment provides for a phased transition of functions from local authorities to Irish Water. From an operational perspective, it is envisaged that local authorities will be engaged as agents of Irish Water for a considerable period of time with the majority of staff remaining in the direct employment of local authorities. This will ensure a smooth transition to the new model and guard against the loss of local expertise. These arrangements would end in 2017 at the earliest based on the independent assessment.

These are a range of key issues to be addressed in developing the implementation plan for the establishment of Irish Water. The development and rollout of the plan will involve co-operation with local authorities and staff to ensure that the change is managed well. The County and City Managers Association is involved in the steering group for the project and the Department has also written to Managers on a number of occasions to update them on aspects of the reform programme.

The Department has had initial engagement with ICTU at the start of the independent assessment and as part of the consultation process undertaken earlier this year. There will be further engagement during the course of the development of the implementation plan and I have written to Congress in this regard.

The implementation plan will be refined and developed over the coming weeks in collaboration with other relevant Government Departments, local authorities, BGE and NewERA.

Barr
Roinn