Press release
Irish Water to become ‘Uisce Éireann’ as a standalone national authority for water services
From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Published on
Last updated on
The government this week has approved the publication of the Water Services (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2022, sponsored by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien.
The Bill provides for the separation of Uisce Éireann (Irish Water) from Ervia and its establishment as the standalone national authority for water services. As part of the change the authority shall be known by its Irish name, Uisce Éireann. The Bill will be progressed through the Houses of the Oireachtas during the Autumn with a view to it being enacted before the end of 2022.
Minister O’Brien said:
“This Bill provides a significant milestone in giving effect to the Programme for Government commitment to retain Irish Water in public ownership as a national, standalone, regulated utility. I would like to thank Irish Water and its parent company Ervia, for cooperating with my department to fulfil this commitment. It is appropriate that on legal separation, Irish Water should be known as Uisce Éireann which is in the spirit of the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021.
"Separation of Irish Water from the Ervia Group is in the best strategic interests of the water services and gas networks businesses and separation will be achieved by 1 January 2023.”
Arrangements are currently underway for the printing and publishing of the Water Services (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2022 and it will be available on the Oireachtas website in the coming weeks.
The Explanatory Memorandum which sets out the provisions of each section of the Bill will also be available on the Oireachtas website.
The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage is the majority-shareholding Minister for Ervia, a commercial semi-state body. Ervia is responsible for delivering strategic national infrastructure in the areas of water and gas. Irish Water is currently a subsidiary of Ervia.
In July 2018, the government decided that Irish Water would become a standalone, publicly owned, commercial, regulated utility separated from the Ervia Group during 2023.
The Water Services (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2022 acknowledges the character of Uisce Éireann (Irish Water) - the national authority for relevant water services functions under the Water Services Acts. The Bill which is largely technical in nature provides for: