Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Today, representatives of the Commission for Energy Regulation were due to attend the Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht to outline the water charges plan.

I have just come from that meeting. The representatives were not able to enlighten the committee because Irish Water did not submit its plan to the commission in time. It was reported in Saturday's Irish Independentthat the promised free allowance for children of 38,000 litres per annum is being reviewed by Irish Water, which appears to think it is overly generous. Judging from what its representatives said at the committee meeting, the CER seems to agree with Irish Water. The Irish Independentarticle also reported that usage rates will be critical in determining how much families will pay when the bills arrive next January.

Prior to the local elections, the Taoiseach promised to provide price clarity to voters because he wanted them to be informed when they went to the polling stations. He stated that the average bill for a household would be €240 per year. However, the election was hardly a ringing endorsement for Fine Gael or the Labour Party, and the exit polls identified water charges as a key issue. I do not think that the need to invest in water services and to conserve water is in doubt but Irish Water is a juggernaut that keeps ploughing through the stop signs. The Government gave a commitment to eliminate quangos and that culture but we have an inflated super-quango in the form of Irish Water. The ESRI estimates that each household will pay €65 to cover staffing costs before a drop of water is produced. The overheads are gigantic and it is difficult to see where the investment will be found. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has indicated that investment will need to double from €300 million to €600 per annum. Households are already struggling to pay utility bills. This is a runaway train but a runaway train can be stopped if there is the political will to do so. Given the response in the local elections and the fact the public have clearly identified this as a key issue, will the Taoiseach listen to what the people have said and halt this runaway train?

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