Irish Water funding cut by €150m over next two years
The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), the independent economic regulator of Irish Water, has refused a request for over €2bn to run the service in 2017 and 2018. It has also slashed, by €128m, Irish Water’s request of €1.53bn for operating costs, to just under €1.4bn.
In a consultation paper issued yesterday, the CER said it was seeking to protect Irish Water customers by ensuring it only recovers efficient costs while delivering necessary improvements in service and performance.
“The CER is proposing to allow Irish Water a total revenue of €1.852bn (2015 prices) to fund capital investments and operations for the years 2017 to 2018. This represents a saving of €156m against Irish Water’s request to the CER,” said the commission.
Irish Water is already facing a shortfall of around €300m as a result of the Government’s decision to suspend household charges until the end of March next year.
While the Government has promised to make up the deficit this year, no decision has yet been made for next year or beyond.
The funding shortfall will be even bigger if bills are not reintroduced from the end of March, as planned. Given the level of antipathy among TDs to the charges, it is unlikely the Government will be able to bring them back next year.
The CER acknowledged that Irish Water has suffered from historical under-investment. “With ageing and poor quality infrastructure in some areas, substantial investment is required to bring the standard of the assets up to the needs of a modern economy,” it said.
Irish Water plans to spend €5.5bn upgrading water and wastewater treatment plants nationwide as well as reducing the level of leaks in the system.
Major projects already under way include sourcing a new drinking water supply for Dublin and the Midlands.
