Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is the Government amendment. With amendment No. 35 the Government is being allowed to charge people who do not have meters attached to their homes. That is grossly unfair. I put it to the Minister that nobody should get a bill until all the meters are installed as only then can we charge like with like. There would be two different prices for the same product. If one of the multinational supermarkets, such as Tesco, did that, the Government would seek to prevent such a practice. Nevertheless, the Government is looking to allow Irish Water to do it. Water is defined under European legislation as a food product and it will be charged based on quantity for some and for others the amount charged will be based on their connection to a public drinking water supply. Perhaps the Minister has some statistics that could further the debate.