With effect from 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels for public water services, including the delivery of water services capital infrastructure, encompassing the management of urban waste water collection and treatment infrastructure. Under section 7 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013, I have no function in the matter. The operation of the Ringsend plant is a matter for Irish Water.
In relation to funding, as part of Budget 2021, I secured funding of over €1.4 billion to support water services. This includes €1.3 billion in respect of domestic water services provision by Irish Water. This overall investment will deliver significant improvements in our public water and waste water services, support improved water supplies right across Ireland, and support a range of programmes delivering improved water quality in our rivers, lakes and marine area. To be helpful, Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. The team can be contacted via email to oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on a dedicated number, 1890 578 578.
In addition, the Office of Public Works (OPW) is the lead State body for the coordination and implementation of Government policy on the management of flood risk in Ireland.
