Brian Stanley
Ceist:9. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage what role a person (details supplied) will play in Uisce Éireann’s capital investment plan. [53991/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 7 December 2023
Ceisteanna (9, 40)
Brian Stanley
Ceist:40. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether private sector investors will be used to finance Uisce Éireann’s capital investment plan; if these will be PPPs or shareholders in Uisce Éireann; and the reason his Department is not fully financing Uisce Éireann’s capital plan. [53992/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí ó Béal (6 píosaí cainte)
I am asking about the role a private company will play in Uisce Éireann's capital investment plan. As we know, Uisce Éireann is a public body and so the finances will be scrutinised by the Comptroller and Auditor General. There has been talk about having a referendum to ensure it is kept in public ownership. I am concerned this might be the slippery slope to some privatisation.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 40 together.
The company referenced has been successful in an Uisce Éireann public procurement process and is one of eight companies placed on a framework for the provision of project management services in the delivery of the capital investment plan. The framework covers technical and project management services across water and wastewater.
Uisce Éireann is the national water services authority for the provision of safe, clean, affordable and environmentally compliant water and wastewater services to households and businesses across the country. It is a State-owned entity in public ownership and private sector investors will not be used to finance Uisce Éireann’s capital investment plan. Uisce Éireann has two shareholders: the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.
The funding and regulatory model for Uisce Éireann was put in place following the 2017 report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services. The funding model is set in the context of the EU water framework directive, which is the overarching directive for policy in the EU.
The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, prepared a water services policy statement, which sets out the policy objectives and priorities of Government in the provision of water services, including meeting the obligations to protect and enhance the environment. In response to the water services policy statement, Uisce Éireann developed a capital investment plan and a multi-annual strategic funding plan. The capital investment plan sets out a clearly defined set of priorities to deliver improvements to water and wastewater services throughout Ireland where they are needed most urgently to meet our EU drinking water and wastewater service obligations while supporting balanced urban and rural development.
The strategic funding plan specifies the arrangements Uisce Éireann proposes to make and the measures it proposes to take to meet the policy objectives of the water services policy statement, incorporating its estimated funding requirements for investment and operating costs, together with sources of funding.
The strategic funding plan also specifies the estimated costs of both domestic and non-domestic water services and the expected income of Uisce Éireann to meet these costs. The cost of providing domestic water services, other than excess usage, is met by Exchequer funding through the annual budgetary and Estimates process, having regard to the regulatory process undertaken by the CRU. In addition to the domestic water services subvention, a capital contribution is provided through our Department's Vote for capital investment in the domestic sector. The cost of providing non-domestic services is met by charging tariffs to non-domestic users.
Uisce Éireann also borrows money to part-fund the non-domestic capital investment portion, with such borrowings being classified as non-voted expenditure and provided to Uisce Éireann through a State borrowing facility from the Minister for Finance.
By way of reassuring the Deputy, Uisce Éireann is a publicly owned utility and will remain so. It is something that the people of Ireland wanted. It is something we wanted in this House. I can categorically say there is no intention to change that in the future.
The way of really ensuring that, as the Minister of State knows, is to have a referendum for constitutional change. There should be an amendment to the Constitution to enshrine that. The concern here is that a private company has been lined up - Mott MacDonald has been named in media - to provide services in relation to capital works for Uisce Éireann. As I understand it, the partner of that company is J. Murphy and Sons. In the press release from that company back in October, Mott MacDonald stated "The building, repair and upgrading of Uisce Éireann’s water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants, water and sewer network requires a multi-billion euro investment programme over many years." It concluded that as the company looks to improve current infrastructure, build capacity for the future growth and meet the challenges of achieving carbon neutrality, the capital investment plan will aim to bring in those funds from the private sector investors. That is what it said. That last sentence was subsequently deleted from the press release. I am looking for clarification from the Minister of State on this important issue.
Again, by way of reassurance, when local authorities were in the stewardship of the provision of water and wastewater services there were always design build operate, DBO, contracts in place for the delivery of water and wastewater services. It is the case, as I stated at the start, that this for the delivery of project management for Uisce Éireann. The utility that is Uisce Éireann is publicly owned. Again, I stress that will remain the case unless it is changed by a vote that is put to the people. The work that Uisce Éireann carries out is fully funded by the Exchequer, apart from excess use. The capital funding to provide water and wastewater infrastructure is fully funded by the Exchequer, as was required and has been supported in this House.
Yes, but Uisce Éireann has a whole battalion of engineers and people who should be capable of project management. The Minister of State and I also know that DBOs are very expensive. Anyone who follows local authority budgets will see that every year in their annual budgets when they look at services that have been provided. While in theory it may be publicly owned, the fear is regarding the amount of private sector control over it. I understand that private companies will have to be brought in to design and build projects, but the level of influence and control can slip very easily.
In relation to the company concerned, one of its partners has been accused by one of the trade unions, Unite, of union-busting in respect of workers who were sacked. The Minister of State will be able to see the slippery slope here. This is not just about protecting the water services, it also about protecting the quality of jobs. In this House, we have a responsibility, because if the cheque is written out here and sent over to Uisce Éireann, we have a job to ensure that we get good value, good outcomes for public money, that it stays in public ownership and that the workers who are providing the services are treated properly. Again, I want to restate my party's position and my own, which is that public ownership of Uisce Éireann needs to be enshrined in the Constitution.
Again, there is a commitment to a referendum on the public ownership of water. Uisce Éireann as a public utility is enshrined in legislation, and that would have to be changed through subsequent legislation. That is the case. I will go back to the point of the DBO projects. I refer to the scale of the challenge for water and wastewater delivery. In this House, we speak on a daily basis about the delivery of housing, but the delivery of infrastructure for water and wastewater is a critical component of that. Uisce Éireann cannot carry that out within its own staffing complement and resources. It has to be the case that we use these DBOs to deliver the projects. Again, I want to give reassurance that Uisce Éireann is a publicly owned utility and will remain so. However, it does use the services of private companies for project management and project delivery of its capital programme.