Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The energy regulator has begun a consultative process on the issue of water charges. It will be done in two parts: first, in respect of the structure of the charge and second, in respect of the amount of the charge itself. As Deputy Collins should know from the legislation, there is provision for the Minister to give direction to the energy regulator in respect of certain matters. As I stated earlier, these matters will have to include how the situation of households which will not be metered by the time the charges come to apply will be dealt with. That must be addressed. As I noted earlier, there are several possibilities but we must make a decision in that regard. That is the substantial issue.

The position as things stand is that three out of every four households will not be metered by the time the charge comes into effect and we need to have a fair way of dealing with that. I do not believe it is acceptable to have a charging based on some kind of crude decision based on the type of house concerned. We must consider the issue of water usage in the house and the size of the family and their needs.

As I noted earlier, the second issue relates to ability to pay. A figure of €240 has been recommended by the Central Statistics Office but no decision has yet been made by the Government. Admittedly, that figure is less than what was discussed earlier and less than the Fianna Fáil figure of €400, but it is still a large figure for a family having a difficulty to pay it.

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