Water Services Act 2017

• Jurisdiction: Ireland

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Number 29 of 2017

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WATER SERVICES ACT 2017

REVISED

Updated to 28 April 2023

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This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Water Services Act 2017. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.

All Acts up to and including the Sex Offenders (Amendment) Act 2023 (9/2023), enacted 5 April 2023, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2023 (S.I. No. 207 of 2023), made 28 April 2023, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.

Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to

revisedacts@lawreform.ie.

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Number 29 of 2017

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WATER SERVICES ACT 2017

REVISED

Updated to 28 April 2023

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Introduction

This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was passed.

Related legislation

Water Services Acts 2007 to 2022: this Act is one of a group of Acts included in this collective citation to be construed together as one (Water Services (Amendment) Act 2022 (39/2022), s. 1(2)). The Acts in this group are:

• Water Services Act 2007 (30/2007)

• Water Services (Amendment) Act 2012 (2/2012)

• Water Services Act 2013 (6/2013)

• Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 (50/2013)

• Water Services Act 2014 (44/2014)

• Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 (29/2015), Part 10 (ss. 47-51)

• Water Services Act 2017 (29/2017)

• Water Services (Amendment) Act 2022 (39/2022)

Annotations

This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.

An explanation of how to read annotations is available at

www.lawreform.ie/annotations.

Material not updated in this revision

Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.

Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.

A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1972, may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at

www.irishstatutebook.ie.

Acts which affect or previously affected this revision

• Water Services (Amendment) Act 2022 (39/2022)

All Acts up to and including Sex Offenders (Amendment) Act 2023 (9/2023), enacted 5 April 2023, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

• Water Services Act 2017 (Commencement) Order 2022 (S.I. No. 22 of 2022)

• Water Services Act 2017 (Membership of Water Forum) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 526 of 2020)

• Water Services Act 2017 (Commencement) Order 2019 (S.I. No. 510 of 2019)

• Water Services Act 2017 (Part 7) (Establishment Day) Order 2018 (S.I. No. 194 of 2018)

• Water Services Act 2017 (Part 5) (Establishment Day) Order 2018 (S.I. No. 193 of 2018)

• Water Services Act 2017 (Commencement) Order 2017 (S.I. No. 511 of 2017)

All statutory instruments up to and including Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2023 (S.I. No. 207 of 2023), made 28 April 2023, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

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Number 29of 2017

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WATER SERVICES ACT 2017

REVISED

Updated to 28 April 2023

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Acts Referred to

Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (No. 7)

Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 (No. 22)

European Parliament Elections Act 1997 (No. 2)

Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (No. 52)

Fire Services Act 1981 (No. 30)

Freedom of Information Act 2014 (No. 30)

Local Government Act 1998 (No. 16)

Local Government Act 2001 (No. 37)

Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (No. 39)

Valuation Act 2001 (No. 13)

Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 (No. 50)

Water Services Act 2007 (No. 30)

Water Services Act 2013 (No. 6)

Water Services Act 2014 (No. 44)

Water Services Acts 2007 to 2015

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Number 29 of 2017

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WATER SERVICES ACT 2017

REVISED

Updated to 28 April 2023

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An Act to provide for discontinuing and extinguishing liabilities in respect of charges imposed by Irish Water for the provision of water services to a dwelling; for refund of certain payments made in respect of charges so imposed; for setting a threshold amount; for liability to pay for provision by Irish Water of water services exceeding the threshold amount to a dwelling; for allowances and exemptions from that liability in certain circumstances; for funding for Irish Water; for establishment of a body to be known in the Irish language as An Fóram Uisce or in the English language as the Water Forum; for establishment of a body to be known in the Irish language as An Comhlacht Comhairleach Uisce or in the English language as the Water Advisory Body; for amending arrangements in relation to the Local Government Fund; for those purposes to amend the Local Government Act 1998, the Valuation Act 2001, the Water Services Act 2007, the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 and the Water Services Act 2014; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

[17th November, 2017]

Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:

PART 1

Preliminary and General

1

Short title, collective citation and commencement

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Water Services Act 2017.

(2) The Water Services Acts 2007 to 2015 and this Act may be cited together as the Water Services Acts 2007 to 2017.

(3) This Act, other than the provisions referred to in section 5(3), shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or provisions and for the repeal of different Acts or provisions of them, and the revocation of different statutory instruments or provisions of them, effected by section 5.

Annotations:

Editorial Notes:

E1

Power pursuant to subs. (3) exercised (1.02.2022) by Water Services Act 2017 (Commencement) Order 2022 (S.I. No. 22 of 2022).

2. The 1st day of February 2022 is appointed as the day on which section 23 of the Water Services Act 2017 shall come into operation.

E2

Power pursuant to subs. (3) exercised (18.10.2019) by Water Services Act 2017 (Commencement) Order 2019 (S.I. No. 510 of 2019).

2. The 18th day of October 2019 is appointed as the day on which section 61 of the Water Services Act 2017 (No. 29 of 2017) shall come into operation.

E3

Power pursuant to subs. (3) exercised (17.11.2017) by Water Services Act 2017 (Commencement) Order 2017 (S.I. No. 511 of 2017).

2. The 17th day of November 2017 is appointed as the day on which the following provisions of the Water Services Act 2017 (No. 29 of 2017) shall come into operation:

(a) Part 1, other than section (5)(1)(b)(iv)

(b) Part 2

(c) Part 3

(d) Part 4, other than section 23

(e) Part 5

(f) Part 6

(g) Part 7

(h) Part 8, other than subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), (f) and (g) of section 58.

(i) Part 9, other than section 61.

3. The 1st day of January 2018 is appointed as the day on which subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), (f) and (g) of section 58 of the Water Services Act 2017 come into operation.

2

Definitions

2. In this Act—

“Act of 1998” means the Local Government Act 1998;

“Act of 2001” means the Local Government Act 2001;

“Act of 2007” means the Water Services Act 2007;

“Act of 2014” means the Water Services Act 2014;

“Advisory Body” has the meaning assigned to it by section 43;

“Agency” means the Environmental Protection Agency;

“Commission” means—

(a) before 2 October 2017, the Commission for Energy Regulation, and

(b) by virtue of the Change of Name of Commission for Energy Regulation to Commission for Regulation of Utilities (Appointed Day) Order 2017 (S.I. No. 397 of 2017), on and from 2 October 2017, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities;

“dissolved bodies” has the meaning assigned to it by section 34;

“Forum” has the meaning assigned to it by section 25;

“local authority” has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 2001;

“Minister” means the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government;

“No. 2 Act of 2013” means the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013.

3

Expenses

3. The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

4

Orders and regulations

4. Every order (other than an order under section 1(3), 24 or 42) and regulation under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling such order or regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the order or regulation is laid before it, the order or regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without...