merrion street

The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Mr. Simon Coveney, T.D., announced today (7 July 2016) the appointment of Mr. Kevin Duffy, former Chairman of the Labour Court, as the Chair of the Expert Commission on the funding of domestic public water services in Ireland.
“I am delighted that Kevin Duffy has agreed to take on the critically important role of Chair of the Expert Commission. He has a distinguished track record of public service and will bring to the Commission’s work a wealth of experience in addressing complex, intractable issues”, the Minister said.
Mr. Duffy and the other 7 members of the Expert Commission (see below) will now get their work underway, supported by an independent secretariat which is being provided by the Institute of Public Administration. The Commission (terms of reference below) is to report and present its recommendations to a Special Oireachtas Committee within five months of its establishment (i.e. by the end of November 2016), after which the Committee is to consider the matter and report back to the Oireachtas within a further three months (i.e. by the end of February 2017), with the Oireachtas to consider and vote upon the recommendations of the Committee within a month (i.e. by the end of March 2017).
ENDS
Members of the Expert Commission on the Funding of Domestic Water Services
· Mr. Kevin Duffy, former Chairman of the Labour Court
· 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
· Ms Gritta Nottelman, strategy consultant for Waternet, the only water company in the Netherlands that is dedicated to the entire water cycle.
Terms of Reference
The 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.