Water Services (Amendment) Act 2022

Insertion of sections 17A to 17E in Principal Act

15. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following sections after section 17:

“Financial year

17A. (1) Where the appointed day is 1 January 2023—

(a) the financial year of Uisce Éireann immediately preceding the appointed day shall commence on 1 January 2022 and end on 31 December 2022,

(b) the next financial year shall commence on the appointed day and end on 31 December 2023, and

(c) each subsequent financial year shall be determined in accordance with section 288(2) of the Act of 2014.

(2) Where the appointed day is after 1 January 2023—

(a) the financial year of Uisce Éireann immediately preceding the appointed day shall commence on 1 January 2023 and end on the day before the appointed day,

(b) the next financial year of Uisce Éireann shall commence on the appointed day and end on 31 December 2023, and

(c) each subsequent financial year shall be determined in accordance with section 288(2) of the Act of 2014.

(3) Where subsection (2) applies, the financial year specified in paragraphs (a) or (b) of that subsection may be a period shorter than a calendar year.

Preparation and audit of statutory financial statements

17B. (1) Part 6 of the Act of 2014 shall apply to Uisce Éireann subject to the modifications specified in subsections (2) to (7).

(2) The first statutory financial statements prepared under this section shall be in respect of the financial year specified in subsections (1)(b) or (2)(b) of section 17A, as the case may be, and subsequent financial statements shall be prepared in respect of each subsequent financial year.

(3) Uisce Éireann shall, not later than 2 months after the end of the financial year to which they relate, submit the statutory financial statements, prepared in accordance with Part 6 of the Act of 2014, to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit.

(4) The Comptroller and Auditor General shall audit, and prepare a report in the form set out in section 336 of the Act of 2014 on, the statutory financial statements submitted to him or her under subsection (3).

(5) Uisce Éireann shall pay to the Comptroller and Auditor General in respect of the audit under this section such fees as are approved by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

(6) In relation to Uisce Éireann—

(a) a reference to ‘statutory auditor’ in the Act of 2014 shall include a reference to the Comptroller and Auditor General, and

(b) a reference to ‘audit of the statutory financial statements’ in the Act of 2014 shall include a reference to the audit of the statutory financial statements by the Comptroller and Auditor General under subsection (4).

(7) Chapters 18, 20 and 21 of Part 6 of the Act of 2014 shall not apply to the Comptroller and Auditor General in the performance of his or her functions in relation to Uisce Éireann, nor to the audit of Uisce Éireann’s statutory financial statements by him or her.

(8) In this section, ‘statutory financial statements’ has the same meaning as it has in Part 6 of the Act of 2014.

Appointment of statutory auditor or firm

17C. (1) The Board may, after consultation with the Minister, appoint a statutory auditor or statutory audit firm to be a statutory auditor of Uisce Éireann, if the Board considers it appropriate to do so, for the purposes of, and in accordance with, the Act of 2014.

(2) Where a statutory auditor or statutory audit firm is appointed under subsection (1), the first statutory auditor’s report prepared in accordance with section 336 of the Act of 2014 shall be in respect of the financial year specified in subsections (1)(b) or (2)(b) of section 17A, as the case may be, and subsequent reports shall be prepared in respect of each subsequent financial year.

(3) The appointment of a statutory auditor or statutory audit firm under subsection (1) shall not affect the operation of section 17B.

(4) Uisce Éireann shall pay to a statutory auditor appointed under this section such fees as are approved by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

(5) In this section—

‘statutory audit firm’ has the same meaning as it has in Part 27 of the Act of 2014;

‘statutory auditor’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2014.

Annual report

17D. (1) Uisce Éireann shall prepare a report on the performance by it of its functions under the Water Services Acts 2007 to 2022 (in this section referred to as the ‘annual report’).

(2) The annual report shall include such particulars as Uisce Éireann considers appropriate or as may be directed by the Minister.

(3) The first annual report prepared under this section shall be in respect of the financial year specified in subsections (1)(b) or (2)(b) of section 17A, as the case may be, and subsequent annual reports shall be prepared in respect of each subsequent financial year.

Presentation of financial statements and reports

17E. (1) Uisce Éireann shall, not later than 30 June in each year, commencing in the year 2024, present to the Minister a copy of—

(a) the statutory financial statements submitted to the Comptroller and Auditor General under section 17B(3),

(b) the report prepared under section 17B(4),

(c) the statutory auditor’s report referred to in section 17C(2), if applicable, and

(d) the annual report prepared under section 17D(1).

(2) The Minister shall cause a copy of the statutory financial statements and the reports presented to him or her under subsection (1) to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as practicable following their presentation.”.