The first report focuses on the fundamental issues of financing water and sewerage services and the level of funding required.
In opening his statement the Minister took the opportunity to pay tribute to the Panel and said:
“Through the collective application of their knowledge and experience they have produced a report which offers us an opportunity to reform our water and sewerage services in a better way than direct rule ministers were proposing.”
Referring to Panel Chair, Professor Paddy Hillyard’s key message, the Minister said:
“We agree with the panel’s message that we need to reduce our carbon footprint and develop sustainable ways of delivering clean water and disposing of our sewerage. As a society we will have to pay more in the short term to achieve these objectives: but we must do so for the sake of future generations.
“This is an important message and one we must not, and cannot, duck. We were elected because our people have had enough of being governed from a distance. We were elected because our people had confidence in our ability to take hard decisions on their behalf.”
Turning to the detail of the Report, the Minister said: “The Executive has welcomed the finding that householders have paid a substantial annual contribution towards the costs of the Water Service.
“The Executive has accepted the recommendation that, from 2008/09, there should be full recognition that domestic regional rates revenue makes a contribution to the funding of water and sewerage services. In 2008/09, this will be households’ only contribution to the services; the balance will be paid from the NI Block. This represents the Executive’s commitment to tackling the inequity of double charging.”
Noting the panel’s conclusion that the revenue from the regional rate did not cover the full costs of the Water Service, Mr Murphy said: “The Executive accepted the case made by the report that without an uplift in what people currently contribute, other public services would be deprived of funding.”
He said, the Executive has recognised this and agreed that from 2009/10 there will need to be additional contributions from householders.
“We have concluded that these additional contributions should be phased in with domestic households paying two thirds of their full liability in 2009/10 and full liability the year after. The amount due to be collected from domestic households will be reduced by the amount of the contribution that households are already making via the rates (£109m or an average of £160 per rates bill). This means there will be no double payment.”
Turning to the issue of non-domestic customers, where the panel recommends the introduction of increased payment from 2008/09, the Minister said: “The Executive recognises the challenges and difficulties faced by the non-domestic sector and has decided to phase in the new charges more slowly at 50% of the full charge in 2008/09 and 100% in 2009/10.
“The Executive will also be endeavouring to reduce the burden on the consumer, both domestic and non-domestic through delivering efficiencies and by attracting further revenue sources.”
There are a number of areas where the Executive needed time to assess the recommendations properly before arriving at a concluded position: “The position I am outlining today on behalf of the Executive provides a firm basis for delivering a better deal for all water customers than the Direct Rule administration. However, there is still a great deal of work to be done by the Executive, the Independent Panel, the Regional Development Committee and all the stakeholders. With goodwill and commitment by all parties I am confident we will achieve our goal of better services at an affordable cost.”
Notes to Editors:
1. On 10 May 2007 The Northern Ireland Executive confirmed that proposed new annual charges for water and sewerage would not be imposed in 2007-08 and that they would establish a comprehensive review to address the longer term approach that should be adopted in relation to financing water and sewerage services.
2. On 11 June 2007, in a statement to the Assembly, the Minister for Regional Development, Conor Murphy MLA, announced that the Executive had agreed terms of reference for a comprehensive review of existing arrangements for the delivery of water and sewerage services – and that the review would be led by an independent panel.
The aims of the review are to:
Carry out an independent and comprehensive review of the costs and level of funding needed for water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland, to review how these costs should be met and how the service should be managed and governed within a public ownership model.
Help ensure that there is public trust and confidence in the future arrangements for financing and delivering water and sewerage services.
3. The review has two strands. The first strand focussed on the fundamental issues of financing these essential services while the second will concentrate on the wider aspects of the management and governance arrangements for water and sewerage services.
4. The Independent Water Review Panel (IWRP) is completely independent of government and Northern Ireland Water Limited and is serviced by an independent secretariat. Professor Paddy Hillyard chairs the panel and other members include Joan Whiteside, Charles Coulthard and John Fitz Gerald.
5. Media queries to: Michaela Smyth, Press Office, DRD, Tel 028 9054 0887. Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.
