Site works and connecting services to a self-build

Apply for electricity and water connections as soon as you have planning permission, and agree access, drainage and temporary services before site work starts. Budget for each connection separately from the house.

When you apply, the provider sends a connection offer, which sets the cost and conditions for your site. Check current charges and lead times before committing money, especially if you need a long cable or pipe run, a road crossing or work on someone else’s land.

Connections at a glance

Service	Who to contact and when
Electricity	ESB Networks, when planning is granted
Mains water	Uisce Éireann, when planning is granted
Mains sewer	Uisce Éireann, with your water application
Private well	A driller and water-supply designer, alongside wastewater design
Wastewater system	Your designer and installer, before construction
Broadband	Retail providers or National Broadband Ireland, at design stage

For electricity, allow about €3,600 for a standard connection or about €4,900 for an enhanced 16 kVA supply within the standard terms. Capacity is measured in kilovolt-amperes (kVA); ask your electrical contractor which supply you need. Quotation targets are 7–15 working days, followed by a connection target of about 60 working days subject to the conditions below.

The standard mains-water charge is about €2,270 for a 25 mm pipe covering up to 10 m. Ask Uisce Éireann for your water and sewer costs and programme. Sewer charges, well costs and installation times depend on the site. Get a wastewater quote using the wastewater guide; check retail installation and subscription terms for broadband. Do not assume a well grant is available for a new build.

Standard charges cover defined work for a single house. Anything outside those limits is quoted separately, so a long run from the road can cost far more.

Start with the planning conditions

Your planning conditions may specify the entrance, sight lines, drainage, boundary treatment and landscaping. Read them before you order any work. Check the approved entrance drawings and the applicable road standards with your designer. Visibility requirements depend on the road and the permission; do not adopt a distance from another site. A hedge or boundary outside your control may prevent the approved entrance from being delivered.

The visibility splay is the area that must stay clear so drivers can see along the road from your entrance. Do not assume an informal arrangement with a neighbour gives you the rights you need over that land. Ask your solicitor to confirm you control all the land the condition needs.

Site preparation

Typical early works are, in order:

1. Fence or mark the boundary and agree the site entrance with the council if it is on a public road.
2. Clear the site and strip topsoil. Store it in a heap, since you will need it for landscaping, and keep it away from trenches and any wastewater percolation area.
3. Form a temporary access and hard standing for deliveries and concrete lorries.
4. Set out the house from the approved drawings, with a surveyor or your engineer checking levels against the planning drawings.
5. Arrange temporary site power and water.

Agree who supplies each item with your builder, as covered in the contract, because “site clearance” and “temporary services” are common gaps between a quote and the final bill.

Electricity

If you plan to live on site during the build, the temporary connection and unit have their own rules: see living on site while you build.

Apply to ESB Networks for a new domestic electricity connection. For a single house on a new site, work through these steps:

1. Apply online with a site location map, and details of the supply you want (standard 12 kVA or enhanced 16 kVA; ask your electrical contractor to calculate the capacity needed for your appliances, heat pump and electric vehicle charging).
2. ESB Networks issues a quotation and connection agreement. Allow about 7 working days for a quote without a site visit and about 15 with one.
3. Pay the quote and return the signed agreement.
4. Arrange compliant ducting and the electrical completion certificate through your electrical contractor and their regulatory body. ESB Networks requires a validated certificate, where applicable, before connection work can begin.
5. Choose an electricity supplier and set up your account. ESB Networks will not energise the connection without one.
6. Where no significant work is needed, ESB Networks aims to complete the connection about 60 working days after it has the signed agreement and payment. This target also depends on the wiring certificate, ducting and other quotation conditions being satisfied. Extra work, wayleave problems or road-opening permissions can delay it.

The published standard charge for a single house is €3,602 for a standard connection and €4,877 for an enhanced 16 kVA connection. If your site is a long way from the network, or needs poles or underground cable beyond the standard, the cost is quoted separately. Ask for the quote early: it is the best way to learn whether the site is cheap or expensive to serve before you are committed to it.

Allow time in your programme since lead times can be long. Ask ESB Networks and your electrical contractor how temporary site power will be provided; do not assume the permanent connection quote includes it.

Water

• Mains water. Apply to Uisce Éireann for a new connection. The published standard charge for a single domestic unit with a 25 mm service pipe, covering connection infrastructure up to 10 m, is about €2,270. For runs beyond 10 m, additional charges apply: the provider distinguishes standard extra-metre charges up to 15 m from quotable charges beyond that. Network extensions or upgrades can add cost. Ask whether any current relief applies to your application; do not assume a refund.
• Private well. The owner is responsible for water quality and arranging testing. Agree construction, pollution protection, disinfection and testing with competent specialists; obtain a laboratory quote rather than relying on a fixed testing price. Treatment may be needed depending on the results.
• Well grant. Do not include this grant in a new-build budget. The home must be at least seven years old, normally occupied by the applicant, unable to connect to public or group water, and meet the other scheme conditions. For eligible existing homes, new-well support is 85% of approved costs up to €5,000, with separate limits for rehabilitation and treatment. Confirm eligibility and approval with the council before commissioning work.
• Group water scheme. Some rural areas have one. Ask the scheme for its connection terms and its most recent test results.

Wastewater

Where there is no public sewer, you will need a treatment system designed from a site suitability assessment. See wastewater treatment systems. Position the system, the well and the house together at design stage: the distances between them are set by the code, and moving one can force the others to move.

Broadband and other services

Use the National Broadband Ireland (NBI) map to check your Eircode against the intervention area and its estimated dates. Those dates may change. If your new address is missing or outside the mapped area, contact NBI and retail providers with the location and Eircode. Obtain confirmation of availability and installation requirements before relying on a connection date.

Agree duct routes and specifications with each provider and your designers while planning trenches. Coordinate separation, access and safe installation; spare ducts are useful only if their route and specification suit the intended service. Check availability directly if considering gas.

Common mistakes

• Applying for the connection after the foundations are poured, then waiting months for the energisation date.
• Ordering the well before checking wastewater positions and distances.
• Budgeting the standard charge and finding the site needs poles, a road crossing or a long water run.
• Not checking who owns the verge or hedge a sightline condition needs.
• Assuming the builder’s price includes connections and temporary services.

Budget and timing

List each connection with an estimate and a request date. Add them to your budget as separate lines, with a contingency on the long-run and rural items, and include them in the stages plan so nothing delays your move-in. Request electricity and water quotes as soon as you have planning, even if payment will be later. Check each offer’s conditions and validity before relying on its price or dates.

For each service, record who applies, who pays, who installs ducts or pipes and what must be ready before connection. Ask the builder to confirm which of these tasks are in the contract. Update the list when the provider issues its offer, so a missing certificate, trench or supplier account does not hold up the connection.

What to ask before you commit

• ESB Networks: is a standard connection available at this site, and what is the quote?
• Uisce Éireann: is a mains or sewer connection available, and is anything beyond standard charges?
• Your council: what sightline does the road need, and who owns the land it crosses?
• Your driller or designer: where must the well and wastewater system go relative to each other and the house?

For the water choice in detail, see water supply for a one-off house.