Securing Ireland’s water future
Karen Kavanagh, Director of Networks and Economic Regulation at the CRU, outlines how the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) is working to secure Ireland’s water future.
The CRU has approved the regulatory framework that will guide a major five-year period of investment provided by government funding for Uisce Éireann to support safe, reliable, and sustainable water and wastewater services for homes, businesses, and communities across Ireland.
This decision is intended to support the delivery of essential water and wastewater services while ensuring Uisce Éireann remains accountable for how this government approved funding is used and how investment is delivered. The CRU will oversee how this investment is delivered, monitored and reported on.
Revenue Control 4 (RC4) sets out how Uisce Éireann’s water and wastewater services will be funded, delivered, and monitored between 2025 and 2029. It links approved spending to outcomes including stronger infrastructure, secure water supplies, housing delivery, economic growth, environmental performance, efficiency, and customer protection.
Under the final decision, the CRU, Ireland’s economic regulator for water services, has approved expenditure of €13.6 billion, in 2022 prices, for Uisce Éireann. This includes €8.56 billion for capital investment, such as building and upgrading infrastructure, and €5.06 billion for day-to-day operating costs. Uisce Éireann requested €13.8 billion in its business plan.
The decision also approves allowed revenues of approximately €8.57 billion for RC4, compared with €5.98 billion in RC3. This reflects the scale of investment needed to support reliable services, housing delivery, economic development, environmental standards and secure water supplies.
Investment tied to delivery
A central part of RC4 is ensuring that approved investment is linked to delivery for customers and communities.
Under the final framework, Uisce Éireann must deliver 39 delivery obligations linked to capital investment and infrastructure delivery. It must also meet 34 performance targets covering areas such as environmental compliance and customer service.
Two major projects, the Water Supply Project and the Greater Dublin Drainage project, will help provide long-term water supply and wastewater capacity for the Greater Dublin area. Investment in these projects will continue through RC4 and is expected to extend into RC5, which will cover 2030 to 2034, before the projects are completed.
The approved investment includes new and upgraded treatment plants, additional network capacity, repairs to water mains and sewers, and investment in pumping stations and maintenance.
These upgrades are expected to help secure water supplies, reduce interruptions, strengthen local services, and support safe, reliable water services into the future.
Supporting housing and economic growth
Water and wastewater services are essential to the delivery of new homes and developments. Adequate water supply and wastewater capacity will be a key part of supporting housing delivery over the coming years. The approved RC4 investment is intended to support government priorities, including the previous housing delivery target of 33,000 homes per year, by providing the capacity required for new connections and planned development.
Due to the timing of the final determination, the approved RC4 programme does not reflect the Government’s revised National Development Plan (NDP), published in 2025, which sets a target of 50,500 new homes per annum to 2030.
The NDP provides Uisce Éireann with an additional €1.7 billion in government capital funding for growth-related water services investment between 2026 and 2029 and provides a clear funding pathway for the delivery of growth-related investment required to support the revised NDP housing targets. The CRU expects that Uisce Éireann will submit an updated RC4 investment plan reflecting these revised NDP and associated funding commitments.
While these additional investment requirements will be assessed through an RC4 reopener framework before any updated determination is made, the CRU does not anticipate that the availability of funding will present a barrier to the delivery of government-approved water services investment under RC4 or the NDP.
Efficiency and value for customers
The CRU has also placed a strong focus on value for money and transparency for end customers.
The final RC4 requires Uisce Éireann to deliver at least €300 million of additional outputs, equivalent to around 3.5 per cent of approved capital expenditure, while continuing to deliver its core investment programme. This means Uisce Éireann will be expected to deliver more within the approved funding, with performance monitored during and after RC4.
The CRU has also applied an 8 per cent reduction to Uisce Éireann’s controllable operating costs by the end of RC4. This amounts to €180 million compared with Uisce Éireann’s business plan. The final decision allows €5.06 billion in operating expenditure, compared with the €5.24 billion requested by Uisce Éireann.
Taken together, these measures are intended to improve efficiency while keeping a clear focus on delivery, strong management, and outcomes for customers.
Stronger reporting and accountability
Clear reporting will be important in showing how investment is being delivered and what it is achieving. The final RC4 framework strengthens monitoring and reporting requirements on Uisce Éireann, which must report annually against its 39 delivery obligations and 34 performance targets, and quarterly on 30 priority projects and two major projects. Uisce Éireann must also provide focused annual reporting on priority areas including security of supply and leakage, growth and new connections, wastewater infrastructure, and improving its understanding of asset condition.
The framework also includes performance targets for customer service and service interruptions, including targets relating to the minutes of lost water supply experienced by customers.
“As Ireland’s water needs continue to grow, RC4 provides a framework to
help ensure investment, planning, and oversight deliver long-term benefits for households, businesses, communities, and the environment.”
Karen Kavanagh, Director of Networks and Economic Regulation, CRU.
Uisce Éireann will also report on properties at risk of sewer flooding, greenhouse gas emissions, and compliance with relevant EU Directives, including the Energy Efficiency Directive.
Environmental and climate priorities
Ireland’s water sector has an important role to play in meeting national and EU environmental goals. RC4 includes investment to address high-risk drinking water quality issues, improve wastewater treatment, support compliance with environmental requirements, and progress works at EPA priority sites.
This investment is intended to help protect the environment and support more sustainable water and wastewater services.
What RC4 means for non-domestic customers
The final decision provides a smoother approach to recovering revenues over the remainder of RC4, helping to support a more gradual, stable, and predictable path for non-domestic customers to manage their bills.
For many non-domestic customers, reliable water and wastewater services are essential to daily operations. They support business continuity, regional employment, food production, tourism, healthcare, education, and other services that depend on secure and resilient water infrastructure.
This is consistent with the CRU’s role in supporting efficient delivery, clear charging arrangements and customer protection.
A long-term framework for water services
The CRU’s final RC4 decision marks an important step for Ireland’s water and wastewater sector. It approves the largest investment in Ireland’s public water services to date and sets out a clearer link between funding, delivery, efficiency, and accountability.
As Ireland’s water needs continue to grow, RC4 provides a framework to help ensure investment, planning, and oversight deliver long-term benefits for households, businesses, communities, and the environment.
W: www.cru.ie
