Irish Water’s €11 billion strategic funding plan probed by regulator
- by Karma Loveday
- Nov 19, 2018
- 1 min read
State-owned Irish Water’s €11 billion strategic funding plan for 2019-24 has been signed off by local government minister Eoghan Murphy and is now under scrutiny by the economic regulator, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU).
The plan provides for €6.1bn investment in infrastructure and assets and €4.9bn in operating costs.
The funding will be met through a combination of non-domestic revenue, government subvention, non-domestic borrowings, capital contributions and excess usage charges.
Current estimates suggest some 80,000 domestic consumers will be charged under this new regime which is expected to yield €39 million over the plan period. Average households who are using more than 213,000 litres of water per year will face charges.
The plan will be revisited in 2021 to reflect progress with major capital schemes like the Eastern and Midlands Water Supply Project and the Greater Dublin Drainage initiative.
The funding blueprint is the first since domestic water charges were ditched after a fierce political row.