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Ireland’s Environment 2012
106
The Water Framework Directive
includes a provision for Member
States to take account of recovery
of the costs of water services, and
requires that, where implemented,
water pricing policies should provide
adequate incentives for users to
use water efficiently. In Ireland, the
provision of drinking water cost
over €1.2 billion in 2010, with over
1.6 billion litres of water supplied
by water services authorities on a
daily basis. However, the DECLG has
recognised that the current model
of water provision, where unlimited
quantities of an expensive product
are provided at no charge, is not
sustainable (DECLG, 2012). Ireland
remains the only country in the
OECD where households do not
pay directly for the water they use.
The OECD has found that pricing
the use of environmental resources
has proved to be a powerful tool
for influencing consumer decisions
(OECD, 2011). It found that
households that are metered and
pay for water consumption use
approximately 20% less water than
uncharged households.
The paper on the
Reform of the
Water Sector in Ireland
(DECLG,
2012) signals the Government’s
intent to take a national approach
to water with the aim to conserve
water resources and increase the
cost efficiency associated with
water provision. In April 2012, the
Government announced the creation
of Irish Water as an independent
State-owned subsidiary within
the Bord Gáis Éireann group. It is
intended that Irish Water will be
established as a wholly owned
public water utility that will manage
the national investment and
maintenance for Ireland’s water and
sewerage networks. The Government
also plans to implement a universal
water metering programme for
users of public water supplies. This
will facilitate moving to a charging
system for domestic water users,
based on usage above a free
allowance.
Biodiversity
According to the United Nation’s
Food and Agriculture Organisation,
at least 40% of the world’s economy
is based on the use of biological
resources (DECLG, 2011). Ireland’s
biodiversity is valued in excess of
€2.6 billion per annum (Bullock et al.,
2008), from which the economy and
society derive a variety of services
including:
n
provisioning services (e.g.
production of food and water)
n
regulating services (e.g. the
control of climate and disease)
Figure 8.3
Water Exploitation Index for some EU and Other Countries
1990 and 2010 (EEA, 2012b)
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Cyprus
Belgium
Spain
Italy
Malta
Turkey
Germany
Poland
France
Portugal
Estonia
Greece
England/Wales
Czech Republic
Netherlands
Lithuania
FYR, of Macedonia
Bulgaria
Hungary
Switzerland
Austria
Denmark
Luxembourg
Slovenia
Romania
Finland
Ireland
Sweden
Slovakia
Latvia
Iceland
Norway
WEI-Latest Year
% Long-term Renewable Resources Abstracted
WEI-90