Public Engagement and
Transparency
Note on queries raised on behalf of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on
the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services on 4 January 2017
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Key points

There are two important fora established on a statutory basis to reflect the views of key
stakeholders in evolving water policy – the National Rural Water Services Committee
(Water Services Act, 2007) and the Public Water Forum (Water Services Act, 2014).
The Public Water Forum (PWF) is specifically established as an Irish Water customer
consultative forum;

Engagement with key stakeholders as part of the consultation on the development of the
second cycle of River Basin Management Plans has pointed to the need for more
structured engagement on broader water environment issues. In order to provide for this
in a more streamlined manner (and avoid a duplication of effort), the Minister is
considering broadening the remit of PWF to encompass and co-ordinate such broader
engagement.

In support of the river basin management plan process, the recently-established Local
Authorities Waters and Communities Office will drive public engagement, participation,
and consultation with communities and stakeholders at local level, and co-ordinate these
activities across all 31 Local Authorities. LAWCO will work to ensure public and
stakeholder engagement will result in meaningful public and stakeholder participation in
the catchment management approach across the river basin district. The EPA will also
enhance knowledge sharing in the area of water quality through its Water Framework
Directive (WFD) app and catchements.ie website. These information and data-sharing
repositories will act as knowledge sharing tools that will enhance public engagement on
issues of water quality and facilitate better targeting of WFD measures and
implementation coordination.

Public consultation is a key element of the role of the Commission for Energy Regulation
(CER), both as set out in statue and in its modus operandi. Both the CER and the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (as environmental regulators), place a strong
emphasis on making documentation available through their websites for example, to
improve transparency of their regulatory decisions.

In addition, and in the context of the Confidence and Supply Arrangement, an external
advisory body is to be established on a statutory basis to advise on measures needed to
improve the transparency and accountability of Irish Water. This will include providing
quarterly reports to an Oireachtas Committee on the performance of Irish Water on the
implementation of its business plan, including responsiveness to the needs of
communities and enterprise.
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Introduction
Public engagement on different strands of water issues is driven by a number of bodies. The
PWF provides a voice for Irish Water’s domestic and non-domestic customers, giving customers
an opportunity to comment on Irish Water’s performance and policy documents and CER
consultation documents.
Irish Water’s stakeholder forum provides an opportunity for the utility to inform a broad range of
sectors with an interest in Irish Water’s work on current developments regarding public water
services. Separately, the CER has established a non-domestic water user group as a forum for
the CER to understand the needs and priorities of businesses as regulatory policies are
developed over the coming years.
Issues concerning rural water services are discussed and analysed by the National Rural Water
Services Committee, which has a statutory role in advising the Minister for Housing, Planning,
Community and Local Government on rural water issues.
The Department recognises that there is scope for streamlining the structures of public
engagement whilst enhancing engagement on issues of water as a resource to be protected
from pollution and to be conserved. Two plans of the Government give this greater impetus: (i)
the proposed establishment of a national water forum to strengthen public engagement for the
next cycle of river basin management plans and (ii) the establishment of an external advisory
body to improve the transparency and accountability of Irish Water.
Public Water Forum
The Water Services Act 2014 provided for the establishment of a PWF, a consultative forum for
Irish Water’s domestic and non-domestic consumers. Its main function is to provide commentary
on Irish Water’s performance, policy documents produced by Irish Water or consultation
documents produced by the CER. The CER provides the secretariat to the forum.
In June 2015, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government commenced
Section 7 of the Act, and appointed Dr Tom Collins as chairperson of the forum. Dr Collins
chairs the forum on a pro-bono basis. The forum is composed of 32 members, consisting of 20
Irish Water domestic customers and representatives of the following groups:

consumers

those providing or occupying social housing

those owning or occupying private rented housing

representatives of the Community and Voluntary Pillar

people with a disability

environmental organisations

industry

agricultural and rural affairs

the education sector
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
the trade union movement; and

the group water sector.
The forum is playing a valuable and important role in increasing public awareness of water
services issues, particularly those affecting Irish Water’s customers. For example, it published a
submission regarding Irish Water’s 2017-2021 Capital Investment Plan. Public awareness of the
forum’s role will increase as the forum matures and as it continues to involve itself more in the
activities and operations of Irish Water and the water sector more generally.
The Minister and the Department will continue to communicate the role and value of the PWF
and the valuable inputs it is making through our external communications, e.g. the departmental
website, information provided to the Oireachtas, other elected representatives and the public
etc.
Proposed broadening of Stakeholder engagement as part of River Basin Management
Plans
The Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government is considering
broadening the remit of the Forum to one of a national forum, a forum that would input and
examine all issues from source to tap and take in issues in the rural water sector. A number of
fora examining water issues currently exist in Ireland – a broadening of the remit of the PWF
would provide an opportunity to streamline these fora and avoid duplication of effort and
responsibilities as well as giving the forum prominence at national level. This will undoubtedly
enhance the forum’s role and general awareness of its existence and role. The Department has
sought the views of the PWF in this regard.
As a preliminary step to broadening the forum’s remit, the Minister is considering requesting the
forum to analyse, debate and provide views on the draft River Basin Management Plan required
under the WFD. The Minister intends publishing the draft plan very shortly.
The draft plan will outline the programmes of measures Ireland aims to undertake to improve its
water quality in rivers, lakes, coastal waters and other water bodies between 2018 and 2021.
Under the draft plan, a range of actors and sectors, including Irish Water, industry, agriculture,
community groups and others will take measures to improve water quality. Broadening the remit
of the forum to encompass water quality issues is among the main initiatives in the draft plan.
The Department recognises the need for ongoing national debate, dialogue and awarenessraising about water as a vital environmental and economic resource. Water is both a source for
drinking water supplies and a central part of our natural environment. By extending the remit of
the forum, the Minister views the forum as central to increasing public awareness of water in an
age of increasing global water scarcity and increasing demands on Irish water services due to
demographic and economic growth and climate change.
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Experience elsewhere
Ireland can learn much from the practices of other countries. Scotland’s Customer Forum,
representing Scottish Water’s customers, works to identify customers’ priorities and present
these views to the utility and its regulator. It seeks to secure the most appropriate outcome for
customers based on these priorities and helps to garner consensus between the utility and its
customers.
National water fora that bring stakeholders with different interests together with a view to
achieving national buy-in to public policies can be found in Sweden and New Zealand also. The
Swedish Water House connects water stakeholders and familiarises them with international
processes and discussions. It provides a forum for discussion and thinking on emerging issues,
knowledge dissemination and multi-disciplinary policy development concerning the global water
context. As a neutral platform for those interested in international water issues, the Swedish
Water House’s international dimension could provide Ireland with an example of how to make
stakeholders more aware of global water issues.
An example of a national forum that seeks to build consensus and engage constructively with
Government is New Zealand’s Land and Water Forum. The forum, a group of approximately 30
members that meets monthly and reports to a plenary group of 67 member organisations, brings
together stakeholders across industry, the electricity generation sector, environmental and
recreational NGOs, members of the Māori community, scientists, representatives of central and
local government, and other groups with a stake in freshwater and land management.
Through different work phases, the forum has engaged extensively with Government to provide
policy proposals and to build consensus in certain policy areas. By engaging with stakeholders,
it has worked to provide Government with proposals it views as workable among stakeholders.
The forum has examined issues concerning freshwater management, and setting and managing
limits on water quality and quantity. It has engaged with government following government
response to its reports and has examined how it might constitute itself to play a future role
regarding land and water management.
There may be elements of these approaches which could be replicated in an Irish context
through broadening the remit of the PWF.
Promoting transparency and openness
Enhancing public awareness of issues concerning water is not a role simply for the PWF and
the water sector. The Department recognises that making more information about water
available is vital to increasing public understanding of these issues.
Increasing availability of data on water sector.
In recent years, the Department has been working with the CSO and others to increase the
availability of water statistics and research on water. For example, the Department and the CSO
have recently collaborated on data relating to the economic value of water. The Department,
the CSO and other organisations in the sector meet regularly through a Water Statistics
Steering Group to collaborate on water statistics. The Department and the CSO are working
closely in the area of water statistics. Arising from this work the CSO hopes to produce, in time,
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a regular publication on water accounts and data, possibly including household water
consumption data. Increased publicly available water statistics would help to enhance public
awareness of water as a precious resource, the cost of water services and water’s economic
value. Transparent information helps inform society, thus engaging citizens more with such
issues.
Research on issues concerning water quality and services is promoted through various funding
mechanisms, be they for the EPA or Irish Water (the CER allows Irish Water an innovation fund
in order to promote new and improved ways of delivering water and wastewater services to
customers). The National Rural Water Services Committee can also undertake research into
rural water issues through funding available to it. The PWF also has budgetary provisions for
research. Such research can lead to both improved outcomes for water services and greater
public interest and engagement with water issues affecting society, economy and the
environment.
External Advisory Body
A further measure to increase the transparency and accountability of Irish Water, and to
increase public confidence in the utility, is the Government’s proposed establishment of an
external advisory body. Under the ‘Confidence and Supply Arrangement’ for facilitating a
minority government, the Government is committed to establishing an external advisory body on
a statutory basis to build public confidence in Irish Water. The external advisory body is to be
tasked with publishing advice to the Government and giving quarterly reports to an Oireachtas
committee on the performance by Irish Water on implementation of its business plan.
The body will report on Irish Water’s performance in the areas of: cost reduction and efficiency;
procurement; staffing policies; infrastructure delivery and leakage reduction; improvements in
water quality; and the need for Irish Water to respond to the needs of communities and
enterprise.
It is intended that the proposed body will also play an important role in helping to ensure the
public are aware of the utility’s work in improving the public water and wastewater systems. The
Minister intends advancing legislation on establishing the expert advisory body in 2017.
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