36. (1) The Minister may, for the purposes of this Act and subject to such conditions as he or she may determine, make grants out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas to—

(a) Irish Water, or

(b) the Commission.

F31[(1A) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Minister may, subject to such conditions as he or she sees fit in each financial year, make grants to Irish Water to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas towards the expenditure incurred by Irish Water in the provision of water services to a dwelling.]

(2) The Minister shall, before deciding—

(a) whether or not to make a grant under this section to Irish Water, or

(b) the amount of such grant,

consider the investment plan provided to him or her in accordance with subsection (7) of section 34.

F32[(2A) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), before deciding whether or not to make a grant under this section for the purposes referred to in subsection (1A), the Minister shall also consider each of the following matters:

(a) the most recent water charges plan approved by the Commission under section 22(8);

(b) the most recent strategic funding plan approved by the Minister under section 34A (inserted by section 19 of the Water Services Act 2017);

(c) payments required to be made by Irish Water under section 3C (inserted by section 22 of the Water Services Act 2017) of the Water Services Act 2014 and the costs incurred by Irish Water in the administration of those payments;

(d) the need to ensure the recovery of costs incurred in the provision of water services in accordance with Article 9 of the EU Water Framework Directive;

(e) the environmental objectives of the EU Water Framework Directive.]