Research consultancy services

Tender description

The preparation and provision of research and information to support the Working Group established by the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government to review the Rural Water Sector. The successful tenderer will prepare a report on the governance, supervision, funding and wider investment needs relating to the Rural Water Sector. The report will also review the system of monitoring water quality in the sector and how deficiencies are identified and responded to. The report will be prepared to inform the Working Group in addressing its Terms of Reference and will provide an overall assessment of the Rural Water Sector. The report will be prepared from two combined complementary assignments, being Assignment One which will be a literature review report focused on a national representation of the Rural Water Sector and Assignment Two which will be a regional in-depth assessment of the Rural Water Sector. The preparation and provision of research and information to support the Working Group established by the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government to review the Rural Water Sector. The successful Tenderer will prepare a report on the governance, supervision, funding and wider investment needs relating to the Rural Water Sector. The report will also review the system of monitoring water quality in the sector and how deficiencies are identified and responded to. The report will be prepared to inform the Working Group in addressing its Terms of Reference and will provide an overall assessment of the Rural Water Sector. The report will be prepared from two combined complementary assignments, being Assignment One which will be a literature review report focused on a national representation of the Rural Water Sector and Assignment Two which will be a regional in-depth assessment of the Rural Water Sector. In April 2018, on foot of recommendations of a Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services (JOC), the Minister established a Working Group to conduct a review of the wider investment needs relating to the rural water services. In its report, the JOC recommended that, the principals of equity of treatment and equivalent financial support should be applied equally between households on public water supplies and those in Group Water Schemes (GWS), Group Sewerage Schemes (GSS), those using domestic wastewater treatment systems (DWWTS) and individual domestic water supplies (IDWS) and that the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government should conduct a review in consultation with relevant stakeholders ‘to quantify what additional investment will be required to equalise treatment between those availing of domestic water services and those availing of private services.’