Under the European Union (Drinking Water) Regulations 2014, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas Library, suppliers of drinking water are required to ensure that the water supplied complies with the chemical and microbiological parameters set out in the Regulations. Details of monitoring requirements along with the procedures to be followed and the roles of water suppliers, the EPA and the HSE, where there is non-compliance with the parametric values set out in the Schedules to the Regulations, are clearly laid out in the Regulations.
The Water Services Act 2007 provides that the owner of a premises is responsible for the maintenance and renewal of the internal water distribution system. Responsibility for replacing lead pipes from the main stopcock to the house and within the house therefore rests with the homeowner. In a joint position paper on lead published by the EPA and HSE in 2013, it is recommended that all lead pipes and plumbing in public and private ownership should be replaced over time. The position paper contains advice for property owners and can be downloaded from: http://www.hse.ie/eng/health/hl/water/drinkingwater/lead/HSE_EPA_JointPositionPaperLeadinDrinkingWater.pdf.
The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 provides that Irish Water can collect charges from each customer in receipt of water services provided by it. 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. The Water Charges Policy Direction issued to the CER in July 2014 referred to a number of matters relating to domestic water charges, including where the quality of water services provided by Irish Water to its customers is impaired or where services are reduced or restricted. Where customers are subject to a drinking water restriction notice, affected customers will receive a 100% discount to the water supply portion of their bill for the duration of the restriction.
My Department is developing a national strategy for lead, in consultation with the Department of Health, Irish Water, the HSE and the EPA, in order to map the scale of the problem and identify measures to mitigate any risks to human health posed by lead in drinking water. However, there are no plans to exempt householders with lead pipes from water charges.
