Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 February 2018
615. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if his department will remove from its website all references to having to have paid water charges to avail of certain schemes following repeal of section 3A of the Water Services Act 2014; and if he will request all local authorities to do the same. [5581/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Water Services Act 2017 (No. 29 of 2017), which was enacted on 17 November 2017, reflects the recommendations of the report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services, which was published in April 2017 and approved by both Houses of the Oireachtas.
The Act provides for the discontinuance of domestic water charges for dwellings as set out in the Water Services Act 2014 and for the refund of domestic charges paid by customers. It also repealed section 3A of the Water Services Act 2014, which provided that upon the sale of a property, a certificate of discharge was required from Irish Water to show that the relevant water charges had been paid. This repeal is provided for in section 5(1)(b)(ii) of the 2017 Act.
Following the repeal of section 3A of the Water Services Act 2014, as outlined above, tenants seeking to purchase their home under the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase scheme, TPS, are no longer required to provide a certificate of discharge from Irish Water to show that the relevant water charges have been paid. My Department wrote to all local authorities informing them of this change in relation to the TPS on 1 December 2017.
The TPS scheme has also recently been the subject of a separate review by my Department and a report setting out the findings and recommendations will be published shortly, following consultation with relevant Departments on implementation arrangements. In this context, updated guidance for local authorities and tenants on all aspects of the TPS will be given due consideration as appropriate.
In the interim, I am arranging for a general statement regarding these changes as a result of the Water Services Act 2017 to be placed on my Department's website.
