Seanad Éireann

Vol. 245 Wednesday, No. 7 27 January 2016 DÍOSPÓIREACHTAÍ PARLAIMINTE PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES SEANAD ÉIREANN TUAIRISC OIFIGIÚIL—Neamhcheartaithe (OFFICIAL REPORT—Unrevised) Insert Date Here 27/01/2016A00100Business of Seanad 381 27/01/2016A00300Commencement Matters 381 27/01/2016A00400Wastewater Treatment 381 27/01/2016B00350Defence Forces Ombudsman Complaints 383 27/01/2016C01050Family Support Services 386 27/01/2016G00050Order of Business 389 27/01/2016S00100National Anthem (Protection of Copyright and Related Rights) (Amendment) Bill 2016: First Stage 407 27/01/2016S01000Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy 408 27/01/2016Z00100Joint Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Motion 419 27/01/2016Z00500Public Transport Bill 2015: Second Stage 419 27/01/2016GG00700Public Transport Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages 434 27/01/2016JJ01300Direct Provision System: Motion 439 27/01/2016VV00100Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Second Stage 462 27/01/2016FFF00300Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages 483 SEANAD ÉIREANN Dé Céadaoin, 27 Eanáir 2016 Wednesday, 27 January 2016 Chuaigh an Cathaoirleach i gceannas ar 1030 am Machnamh agus Paidir. Reflection and Prayer. 27/01/2016A00100Business of Seanad 27/01/2016A00200An Cathaoirleach: I have received notice from Senator Thomas Byrne that, on the motion for the Commencement of the House today, he proposes to raise the following matter: The need for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to introduce legislation to ensure Irish Water will continue to carry out activities that were previously carried out by local authorities, specifically the clearing of common sewer pipes affecting houses in housing estates which happen to be on private property I have also received notice from Senator Gerard P Craughwell of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Defence to outline the reason his Department has failed, to date, to deal with the matters arising from a decision of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces on an appeal for the redress of wrongs (details supplied) I have also received notice from Senator Jim Walsh of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Justice and Equality to outline the specific initiatives the Government plans to implement to promote and support the married family with the object of, inter alia, addressing child poverty and reducing the number of marriage separations and divorces in the interests of the well-being of children and their mental health and, in particular, to comment in this regard on the relevance of new research in Pennsylvania State University entitled, The Effect of Parental Divorce on the Health of Adult Children, as well as a report entitled, Has the Association Between Parental Divorce and Young Adults’ Psy- chological Problems Changed over Time? Evidence from Sweden, 1968-2000 I regard the matters raised by the Senators as suitable for discussion and they will be taken now 27/01/2016A00300Commencement Matters 27/01/2016A00400Wastewater Treatment 381 Seanad Éireann 27/01/2016A00500Senator Thomas Byrne: I thank the Cathaoirleach for giving me the opportunity to raise this and many other important matters in the Seanad in the past few years This issue relates to sewer pipes in very old estates Some estates were constructed as recently as 40 years ago, but others are much older I have come across examples in Ashbourne, Duleek and Drogheda The issue concerns sewer pipes that become blocked from time to time due to inadequate infrastructure put in place at the time in the 1970s, 1960s or even the 1930s If the pipes in one house are blocked, the pipes in the whole street can also become blocked Until Irish Water was formed, the local authorities used to regularly clear sewer pipes on behalf of residents Since responsibility for water and sewage services was removed from local authorities, in general, Irish Water refuses to clear sewer pipes There are cases in which people have to clear a blockage in their systems However, the blockage is not on theirs but on someone else’s property and nothing can be done about it This is a very serious issue which tends to affect older residents who have been in their houses for a long time It is not a problem that affects newer estates as much This is a responsibility local authorities had taken on for many years, but it did follow through to Irish Water It is essential that some direction be given to it, specifically in estates where this work was always done by the local authority It is not possible for someone to deal with a problem caused down the street; it has to be dealt with centrally by the public authorities 27/01/2016A00600Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Gov- ernment (Deputy Ann Phelan): I thank the Senator for raising this issue and note how it affects many householders As the House will be aware, the Government, local authorities and Irish Water are continuing to deliver on an ambitious transformation programme in the water services sector Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local level The Water Services (No 2) Act 2013 provided for local authorities to act as agents of Irish Water, with this relationship being expressed through service level agreements Through these 12-year agreements, local authorities are utilising their experience and expertise in asset management and operations to provide services on behalf of Irish Water This expertise is being combined with the considerable network and utility management experience available to Irish Water The agreements are based on partnership, continuous improvement and the delivery of efficiencies. Each service level agreement, SLA, in place with a local authority is supported by an annual service plan which reflects the required programme of transformation for that authority. It also outlines agreed objectives and standards of performance, set against a budget covering headcount, goods and services and investment in the forthcoming year Annual service plans encompass a set of operational objectives, key performance indicators and a related budget, including payroll These plans set out the context for the delivery of water services for each local authority for a given year The Water Services Act 2007 sets down the obligations and responsibilities of water services authorities and property owners in respect of water infrastructure Sections 43 and 54 provide that a property owner is responsible for the maintenance and replacement of any water or wastewater pipes, connections or distribution systems connected within the boundary of his or her property This was the case also prior to the transfer of responsibility for public water services from the local authorities to Irish Water However, local authorities, at their own dis- cretion, may have undertaken clearance works in respect of common wastewater infrastructure on private property in the past These works were not a requirement of the law pertaining at the time and not every local authority would have provided such services 382 27 January 2016 The Water Services (No 2) Act 2013 transferred responsibility for the maintenance and re- pair of pipes and combined drains under publicly owned roadways and pathways to Irish Water while responsibility for storm water sewers remained with local authorities The position, as set out in legislation, provides clarity on the responsibility for the maintenance of common sewer pipes Notwithstanding the legal position, I recognise the importance of the local authorities and Irish Water working together to agree operational guidelines on this and other boundary type matters so as to provide clarity for householders as to the services which they can expect to receive from Irish Water, working in partnership with the local authorities under the SLA ar- rangements Against this background, further legislation in this area is not envisaged 27/01/2016B00200Senator Thomas Byrne: Obviously, Fianna Fáil’s manifesto states it wants to abolish Irish Water, a position common to many parties I hope the matter will resolve itself after the general election The Minister of State has come a bit of the way from what Ministers have said before It seems the Minister of State is not saying “No” to this but is not saying “Yes” either She is merely saying that local authorities and Irish Water should work together Is this not what the Minister of State and her boss, the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, should say to Irish Water, namely, sort this out with the local authorities where it was done before? Clearly, there are problematic estates dotted around the country, usually at least 40 years old and some are ex-local authority and not all privately built They need this occasional service which was always provided to continue These people simply

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