CER announces extension of water charges plan to 31 December 2017

The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) announced on 10 August 2017 that it approved Irish Waters Charges Plan update that extends the deadline for suspension of domestic water charges to 31 December 2017.

 
 

The announcement made on CER website states:

The CER has today, 10 August 2017, published an updated version of Irish Water’s Water Charges Plan. This document has been approved by the CER. 
 
The document has been updated by Irish Water to reflect an extension (through legislation) of the period for which domestic water charges are suspended. The period of suspension has been extended by five months to 31 December 2017. Please note that this Water Charges Plan does not reflect the Report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services, published last April. Further amendments to the Water Charges Plan may be required at a later date pending the legislative changes anticipated following that report.
Today’s publication, 10 August 2017, supersedes any previous Water Charges Plans.
For details regarding the legislation which provided for the extension to 31 December 2017, please see the Water Services Act 2014 (Extension of Suspension of Domestic Water Charges) (Amendment) Order 2017 or S.I No. 330 of 2017.
Charges were originally suspended to 31 March 2017 by the Water Services (Amendment) Act 2016, and this was subsequently extended to 31 July 2017 by Water Services Act 2014 (Extension of Suspension of Domestic Water Charges) Order 2017 or S.I. No. 118 of 2017. These pieces of legislation are available on www.irishstatutebook.ie.
 

Source:  http://www.cer.ie/document-detail/Irish-Waters-Updated-Water-Charges-Plan-2017/1175

 

Irish Minister signed Order to hand over 419 sites to Irish Water July 21st 2017

A Statutory Instruments Order S.I. No. 329 of 2017, named the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 (Property Vesting Day) (No.10) Order 2017, was published on July 27th 2017. It was signed by Eoghan Murphy, Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government and came into effect on July 21st 2017.


″This Statutory Instrument gives effect to the decision of the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government to transfer the property listed in the schedule to the Order from water services authorities to Irish Water in accordance with section 12 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013.″

The Eddie Fullerton Dam, Illies, Co Donegal

 

WATER SERVICES (NO. 2) ACT 2013 (PROPERTY VESTING DAY)
ORDER 2017

I, EOGHAN MURPHY, Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 12 (1) of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 (No. 50 of 2013), hereby make the following order:

1. This Order may be cited as the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 (Property Vesting Day) (No. 10) Order 2017.
2. The 21st July 2017 shall be a “property vesting day” for the purposes of section 12 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 (No. 50 of 2013).
3. On the property vesting day referred to in article 2, the property listed in the schedule to this Order, which immediately before this day was vested in a water services authority, shall stand vested in Irish Water.

The Schedule listed 419 property sites that were be handed over to Irish Water including reservoirs, waste waterworks and waterworks formerly controlled by local authorities.

Sinn Féin in Government - Preparing for Pritatisation in Northern Ireland

Third in our series on articles concerning water charges in Northern Ireland,  this is an extract from Sean McVeigh's 'Sinn Fein In Government'  published in 2012 in Irish Marxist Review.  Although we concentrate on the 'Privatising Water' chapter, we strongly recommend readers to read the full article downloaded from the above link.

PFI stands for Private Financial Initiatives, a way of creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital.

Original photo of Stormont by http://www.flickr.com/photos/robertpaulyoung/

Sinn Féin in Government

Privatising Water

Until May 2011 Sinn Fein minister Conor Murphy was in charge of the department of regional development which oversees public transport, roads, and water infrastructure.  In preparation for full privatisation NI Water became a government owned company in 2007 (just before the Executive returned from suspension) with the aim of becoming ”self-financing” within three years through the introduction of domestic water charges.

When SF’s Conor Murphy took over the department in May 2007, he allowed NI Water to continue to prepare for the introduction of water charges on domestic properties by installing charging meters in every new house built in Northern Ireland. The fact that water charges have been continually deferred is evidence that both Sinn Fein and the DUP are fully aware that such a move would lead to mass resistance that could threaten the tribal basis of the Stormont regime. Murphy also continued the policy of handing over water infrastructure to be run by private companies under PFI deals. Under a deal signed with the consortium Dalriada Water Ltd in 2006 worth 110 million, the private sector will soon deliver 50.

When the deal was announced by direct rule ministers, the Stormont administration was in suspension and SF opposed the PFI contracts. But when SF got back in government in 2007 the party suddenly found merit in the PFI arrangements and Murphy presided over the transfer of large parts of the water network to the private sector.

The biggest company involved in Dalriada Water is California based multinational Aecom. This company specialises in taking over denationalised public utilities and has gas, oil and water interests around the globe.

When opening a water treatment facility in Antrim constructed with the help of Aecom in 2009, Murphy praised the PFI project saying it would ”deliver an efficient, cost effective and high quality water source”.

Sinn Fein has played a key role in shaping the activities of NI Water because Murphy as DRD minister appointed a number of directors of the company. One of Murphy’s appointments was Lawson McDonald, a director of Global Armour Ltd, which supplies body armour to the SAS and other British forces in Afghanistan. The SF minister also appointed Padraic White who as former Managing Director of the Republic’s Industrial Development Authority was lauded as one of the architects of the Celtic Tiger. White is husband of Fianna Fail senator Mary White. These are the people - put in place by Murphy - who have shaped the direction of NI Water and are moving the company towards full privatisation with the always present danger of the introduction of metered domestic water charges.