Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013

Transfer of property of water services authorities

12. (1) The Minister may, on or after the transfer day, from time to time, by order, appoint a day (in this Part referred to as a “property vesting day”) for the purposes of this section and different property vesting days may be so appointed in relation to—

(a) different water services authorities, and

(b) different property or class or classes of property of a water services authority.

(2) An order under this section shall designate such property, or such class or classes of property, of a water services authority as the Minister may determine.

(3) The Minister may request a water services authority to furnish him or her with such information as he or she may require for the purposes of his or her deciding whether or not to make an order under subsection (1).

(4) A water services authority shall comply with a request under subsection (3) not later than 3 months from its having received the request.

(5) On a property vesting day any land designated by the order by which that property vesting day was appointed and all rights, powers and privileges relating to or connected with such land shall, without any conveyance or assignment, stand vested in Irish Water for all the estate or interest therein that, immediately before that day, was vested in the water services authority concerned, but subject to all trusts and equities affecting the land continuing to subsist and being capable of being performed.

(6) On a property vesting day all property (other than land), including choses-in-action, designated by the order by which the property vesting day was appointed that immediately before that day, was vested in the water services authority concerned shall, without any assignment, stand vested in Irish Water.

(7) Every chose-in-action vested in Irish Water by virtue of subsection (6) may, on and after the property vesting day concerned, be sued on, recovered or enforced by Irish Water in its own name, and it shall not be necessary for Irish Water or the water services authority concerned to give notice to any person bound by the chose-in-action of the vesting effected by that subsection.

(8) Any moneys received by a planning authority in accordance with section 48 or 49 of the Act of 2000 and vested in Irish Water pursuant to an order under this section, shall be expended by Irish Water for the purposes of the provision of water services in the functional area of that planning authority.

(9) Section 183 of the Act of 2001 shall not apply to the vesting of land under this section.

(10) In this section—

“borough council” means a body specified in Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 6 to the Act of 2001;

“town council” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2001;

“water services authority” includes a town council and a borough council.