COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, June 09, 2008
QUESTION NO. 13
QUESTION: Councillor K. Warren
To ask the Manager what is the value of the total water charges invoiced by South Dublin County Council to schools within its administrative area since the introduction of water charges to schools, broken down in each year since the charges were introduced and showing the amounts of these charges which have been paid, and if he will make a statement on the matter?
REPLY:
As the Water Charges Section would not have records going back to when schools were first liable for water charges, please see below the amounts invoiced to and paid by schools in relation to water charges since 2001;
Year Invoiced Paid
2001 € 81,197.58 € 81,197.58
2002 €112,796.37 €112,796.37
2003 €158,120.18 €158,120.18
2004 €142,654.36 €140,093.34
2005 €190,661.53 €170,127.03
2006 €194,881.04 €171,200.63
2007 €164,418.73 €151,231.97
Total €1,044,729.79 €984,767.10
On the 4th January 2008 the Government introduced transitional arrangements for the implementation of Water Charges for schools, as detailed in the Dept. of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (DoEHLG) Circular WSP1/08 ( see below). The transitional arrangements apply retrospectively from 1st Jan 2007 to continue until 31st December 2009 and apply to recognised primary, non-fee-paying secondary, community, comprehensive and vocational schools. From 1st January 2010 all school water usage will be billed on a metered volumetric basis as required by the E.U.Water Framework Directive.(www.wfdireland.ie/ )
The transitional arrangements are summarised as follows:-
§ For 2007, a flat rate of €3.00 per pupil will apply. Bills already issued for 2007 will be recalculated on this basis and schools given a credit in respect of any excess payment.
§ For 2008, a flat rate of €3.50 per pupil will apply.
§ For 2009, a flat rate of €4.00 per pupil will apply.
§ The above flat rates replace the fixed charges that previously applied to unmetered schools. If actual usage as recorded by a meter would produce a lower charge than the flat rate, the lower bill will apply for the transition period.
§ The above rates do not apply to water usage for swimming pools. Schools with swimming pools will have separate meter installed on the pool supply which will be billed on a volumetric basis.
Apart from any readjustment to arrears for 2007 arising from the recalculation of bills at the rate of €3.00 per pupil, schools will be legally liable to pay all other outstanding arrears, regardless of the number of years involved.
Schools owing arrears of water charges can discuss payment arrangements for the outstanding arrears with South Dublin County Council’s Water Charges Section.
As required by Circular WSP01/08, South Dublin County Council will issue quarterly bills to schools indicating the actual volume of water consumed within the billing period and the charge that would have applied had normal volumetric billing been applicable.
Schools with abnormally high water consumption will be advised on the necessity to implement measures to reduce water usage. South Dublin County Council has offered, to arrange for a visit by a Water Inspector to any school to discuss any specific concerns regarding water supply.
· The Council has also given advice to schools on making effective and economical use of water services which may be helpful in minimising schools’ water bill.
A letter dated 25/02/2008 setting out the information above was forwarded to all schools in this Council’s administrative area.
9 January 2008
Circular Number: WSP1/08
To each Water Services Authority
Water Services Pricing Policy Implementation
Water Charges/Water Conservation for Schools
A Chara,
Following on from a commitment in the Programme for Government in relation to school water charges, the Government decided on 4 January 2008 to introduce transitional arrangements for charging schools for water services, pending schools being charged for water services on a full cost recovery and volumetric basis with effect from 1 January 2010. Local authorities are requested to implement the revised arrangements with immediate effect.
The following arrangements will apply to schoolsfor a transition period up to the end of 2009:
§ For 2007, a flat rate of €3.00 per pupil will apply. Bills for 2007 are to be recalculated on this basis and schools are to be given a credit in respect of any excess payment. Outstanding bills for 2007 are to be revised on this basis.
§ For 2008, a flat rate of €3.50 per pupil will apply.
§ For 2009, a flat rate of €4.00 per pupil will apply.
§ The relevant rates for schools receiving a water supply, but not waste water facilities, will be €2.25 in 2007, €2.63 in 2008 and €3.00 in 2009.
§ These arrangements provide the only basis on which schools may be charged for water services in 2007, 2008 or 2009. However, where in 2007 a local authority charged a school a fixed charge lower than would have applied under the new flat rate arrangements, the lower fixed rate may apply for that year.
§ The arrangements will apply to recognised primary, non-fee-paying secondary, community, comprehensive and vocational schools having their own service connection (i.e. schools not part of a larger institution such as a hospital).
§ In the case of boarding schools providing free education to day pupils, usage up to 3.5m³ per day pupil per annum will be charged at €1.00 per m³ and usage in excess of that will be charged at the local authority’s normal volumetric rate for each of the years 2007, 2008 and 2009. If the boarding school is not metered in any of the years in question, the water charges should be calculated on the basis of €3.50 x no. of day pupils plus the local authority’s normal fixed charge applicable to the boarding element of the school.
§ These flat rates replace the fixed charges that were previously being applied by local authorities to unmetered schools. If actual usage as recorded by a meter would produce a lower charge than the flat rate, the lower bill will apply for the transition period.
§ Apart from any readjustment to arrears for 2007 arising from the recalculation of bills at the rate of €3.00 per pupil, schools are legally liable to pay all other outstanding arrears, regardless of the number of years involved. Schools owing arrears of water charges are being advised to discuss a payment arrangement for the outstanding arrears with the relevant local authority.
The pupil numbers used in the calculation of water charges should be the number of recognised pupils as provided by the Department of Education and Science in its website at www.education.ie. Select the Education Provider Search and within that function select your local authority area and separately search for primary and post primary schools. The associated documents on that web page include a list of fee-paying secondary schools (to which these transitional arrangements do not apply) and a list of boarding schools indicating those that have a mixture of day and boarding pupils. It will be necessary to directly contact the Department of Education and Science for the number of day pupils in boarding schools providing free education to such pupils.
Local authorities should proceed with the programme of meter installation in schools as speedily as possible. A charge related to the recovery of the cost of their metering may be applied when schools are being charged on the basis of metered usage.
In the context of full cost recovery being applicable from 1 January 2010, local authorities should provide all schools with periodic indicative bills showing the volume of water supplied in the specified period and the charge that would have applied had normal volumetric billing been applicable. This information will assist schools in preparing for the transition to full cost recovery in 2010. Those schools with abnormally high water consumption are to be identified and contacted with advice on the necessity to implement measures to reduce water usage. A UK study on Sustainable Water Management in Schools recommends a good practice target for usage of 2.7m³ per pupil per annum. As Ireland has a shorter school year, a lower usage rate should be achievable if good water management practices are adopted. On this basis, consumption of 3.5m³ per pupil per annum is considered a reasonably generous estimate of normal needs in current Irish circumstances. Accordingly, usage at a level greater than 3.5m³ per pupil per annum would be considered excessive. The Department of Education and Science has also requested that you send a list of those schools identified as having excess usage to John Dolan, Department of Education and Science Offices, Tullamore, Co. Offaly.
This Department will request group schemes to apply similar arrangements to schools not connected to public water services and receiving their supply from private suppliers within the rural group water scheme sector.
The legal advice made available to the Government makes it clear that any shortfall in water charges arising from the application of these concessions to schools may not be passed on to other non-domestic users.
These transitional charging arrangements are being implemented having regard to the social, environmental and economic effects on schools in the context of Article 9.1 of the Water Framework Directive and must be reported on in the river basin management plans. They apply only to schools and the position remains and the legal advice available to the Government confirms that, in accordance with the WFD, all non-domestic users must pay for water used.
These arrangements afford schools the opportunity to put in place water conservation arrangements and practices and to undertake necessary works to ensure that when full cost recovery becomes applicable, schools will have significantly reduced their water usage and, by virtue of good water conservation, be in a much stronger position to meet their water charges. This Department will work with the Department of Education and Science in relation to a programme of water conservation in schools, which is to be initiated immediately to;
- highlight good practice in water management in schools, and
- advise schools on measures to address excess consumption.
An information package will be prepared and issued by the Department of Education and Science to schools setting out appropriate measures to minimise excess consumption of water and to reduce wastage where it exists. As part of this exercise, technical guidance and specifications for the most common problems that are likely to arise in this area will be provided. In addition, water conservation issues will continue to be addressed by the Department of Education and Science in the context of the design and construction of new schools or where major renovations are being carried out to existing schools under the schools modernisation programme.
Any reduction in income to local authorities during the transitional period will be met through existing provisions within the Local Government Fund. Issues in relation to these transitional arrangements and the associated income to local authorities will be considered by the Department/CCMA Water Services Funding Group.
Any queries may be addressed to Margaret McHugh ('01 8882166; e.mail: margaret_mchugh@environ.ie) or Stephen Manning (' 01 8882162; e.mail: stephen_manning@environ.ie) in Water Services Policy Section, or the undersigned. Queries related to pupil numbers in schools may be addressed to Gillian Golden ('01 8892260; e.mail: Gillian_Golden@education.gov.ie) re primary schools or Mariosa Kelly ('057 9325410; e.mail: Mariosa_Kelly@education.gov.ie) re post primary schools.
Mise, le meas,
_____________________
Sheila McMahon
Water Services Policy Section
To - Each County and City Manager and Director of Services (Water Services)
Copy to – NFGWS, ACCC, CCMA, AMAI, Ombudsman's Office and Regional Authorities.