I propose to take Questions Nos. 423, 427, 442, 469, 481 and 483 to 488, inclusive, together.
The Programme for Government sets out a commitment to the introduction of water charges based on usage above a free allowance. The Government considers that charging based on usage is the fairest way to charge for water and it has, therefore, decided that water meters should be installed in households connected to public water supplies. The Water Services Act 2013 provided for the establishment of Irish Water as an independent subsidiary within the Bord Gáis Éireann Group and assigned the necessary powers to allow Irish Water to undertake the metering programme.
The current water meter installation programme commenced in August 2013 and the approved budget for the programme is €539 million (excluding VAT) which includes the supply of materials and the installation work by contractors operating in eight regions. The total spend on the programme at the end of 2013 amounted to approximately €35 million. It is estimated that 1.05 million meters will be installed under the programme; with about 400,000 by the end of this year, over 800,000 by the end of 2015 and the balance in 2016. The current rate of installation is some 27,000 meters a month and approximately 94,000 meters have been installed to date. A breakdown of the installations by region is set out in the following table.
Meter installations by region
Region
|
All
|
North West
|
West
|
South West
|
North East
|
Dublin City
|
Midlands
|
County Dublin
|
South East
|
Meter
|
93,640
|
7,012
|
6,520
|
7,790
|
12,445
|
13,613
|
22,064
|
15,646
|
8,550
|
A study by Irish Water on the approach to metering further categories of households, including apartments and properties with shared service connections, has been finalised and recently submitted to my Department. The approach in relation to such households will be developed when the study has been considered in more detail. The nature of the works may restrict access to driveways temporarily and will cause some disruption to the public road or footpath outside people's homes and area, which may last for a few days. Irish Water advises that this is unavoidable, but it is endeavouring to keep this disruption to a minimum and to ensure that safe pedestrian access to properties is retained while the work is carried out. There may be instances where access to driveways is blocked overnight to ensure that reinstatement is carried out to the highest level and this is done in accordance with all relevant health and safety requirements, including facilitating access by emergency vehicles. A strong focus has been placed on customer communications during this process and any additional support or advice can be arranged for householders with any disability, mobility or medical concerns by ringing the Irish Water call centre (1890 278 278) in advance of the meter installation. The meter will be installed, where possible, at the stop valve on the public footpath or verge outside a property. The water meters are the property of Irish Water and it is illegal to tamper with a meter. However, it will be possible for a customer to access the meter to verify readings.
Irish Water will aim to reuse existing water meters that are owned by the local authority, where possible. If the meter has the potential to be reused it will be removed and examined to make sure that this is possible. If it is suitable it will be reused within the programme. Where it is not deemed possible to reuse the meter, it will be disposed of in the most sustainable manner possible by the contractor in accordance with the requirements of the contract.
The contractors for the 8 meter regions received, as part of their contract, details of the panel of subcontractors formed by my Department. The contractors may employ from that list, but are under no obligation to do so. The employment of subcontractors is a matter for each regional contractor. Irish Water carries out compliance checks on the contractors. All contractors have also provided information on employees to ensure compliance with the social Inclusion obligations. Data supplied to the Department by Irish Water indicates the following levels of employment created by the metering programme to date.
Employment created by metering programme
No of employees on contract
|
No of employees from SMES
|
No of employees from unemployment register
|
No of apprentices/graduates
& school leavers
|
871
|
475
|
156
|
57
|
-
|
54.5%
|
17.9%
|
6.5%
|
As the metering programme will still be underway when charges are introduced, an appropriate approach to charging customers who are not metered at that stage will be put in place. This will be structured in such a way as to ensure that it represents a reasonable proxy for usage and is fair. The approach to charges for both metered and unmetered properties will be included in a public consultation which will be undertaken by the Commission for Energy Regulation as part of the regulatory process.