merrion street

The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Mr Simon Coveney, T.D. has today (29 June 2016) announced the establishment of the Expert Commission on the funding of domestic public water services in Ireland. The terms of reference of the Commission are outlined below.

The Expert Commission will have 8 independent members and an independent secretariat will be provided by the Institute of Public Administration. The Commission will be chaired by former Senator, Mr Joe O’Toole, and the other members are as follows:

· Dr Xavier Leflaive of the Environmental Directorate of the OECD;
· Mr Peter Peacock, Chair of the Customer Forum for Water Scotland and former Scottish Minister;
· Mr Bill Emery, Chair of the Northern Ireland Utility Regulator;
· Mr Brendan O’Mahony, Chair of the National Federation of Group Water Schemes;
· Ms Sarah Hendry, academic lawyer specialising in water and environmental law, University of Dundee, Scotland;
· Dr. Andrew Kelly, founder and executive Director of EnvEcon and Environmental Economist; and
· Ms Gritta Nottelman, strategy consultant for Waternet, the only water company in the Netherlands that is dedicated to the entire water cycle.

These individuals (their biographies are attached) bring with them a wealth of experience and skills which will be essential in addressing this complex issue. "I have chosen people who I consider to have the necessary professional expertise in environmental matters, law, economics, the customer perspective, the water sector and the regulatory system, and I have included a mix of both national and international experts," said the Minister.

The timelines associated with the Expert Commission and the Oireachtas deliberations on this work are:

· Commission to report and present its recommendations to the Special Oireachtas Committee within five months of its establishment i.e. by end November 2016;
· Special Oireachtas Committee to deliberate the findings and to report back to the Oireachtas within 3 months of receiving the recommendations of the Expert Commission i.e. by end February 2017; and
· Oireachtas to consider and vote upon the recommendations of the committee within a one month period i.e. by end March 2017.

ENDS

Terms of Reference

An Expert Commission will assess and make recommendation upon the funding of domestic public water services in Ireland and improvements in water quality, taking into account:

The maintenance and investment needs of the public water and waste water system on a short, medium and long-term basis;
Proposals on how the national utility in State ownership would be able to borrow to invest in water infrastructure;
The need to encourage water conservation, including through reviewing information campaigns on water conservation in other countries;
Ireland’s domestic and international environmental standards and obligations;
The role of the Regulator; and
Submissions from all interested parties.

The Commission will be empowered to commission relevant research and hear evidence to assist this work.