Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sure it was appreciated by Members on all sides of the House. It is right and proper that Taoisigh should visit the House on a regular basis. The Taoiseach talked about honesty and truth and seeking and telling the truth in the context of the terms of reference for the tribunal. I commend him for at least providing figures which gave the population some indication of what it might face in terms of water charges from 1 October through to January. However, questions have arisen and they have been presented by the Labour Party. In fact, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, is quoted in the newspapers news as saying no deal has been done on water charges. The figures provided by the Taoiseach appear to be based on the subsidy the Government is allowed to give, coupled with the amount of money that will be generated, but there will still be a shortfall.

The question remains, particularly some weeks ahead of the local and European elections, as to what exactly people will be paying come the end of this year. This really is the nub of the problem because it appears on the face of it as though the figure given out by the Taoiseach may not be the figure with which one eventually will end up. It might be considerably more, primarily because only 25% of households in the State will be metered and it appears as though the remainder will then be charged not based on the size of the house but using some sort of system that has yet to be devised. Moreover, it appears as though such a system may result in those in the lower income levels paying as much or perhaps more than those who, as someone observed, live in Sorrento Terrace, Dalkey. I am sure the Labour Party, among all parties, would not wish to endorse such a policy, and therefore, it is time for the Minister, Deputy Hogan, to come back before the House. He should clarify, obviously not today but sometime between now and the end of next month, what precisely is going on in respect of water charges.

While he is in the Chamber, he might also revisit a debate Members had last week. Although it was held under the terms of a motion pertaining to SI 105, that debate also should have been about SI 9, which the Minister did address. I appreciate that a communications problem on Fianna Fáil's side - I put up my hands in this regard - meant it did not include the wording "SI 9" in the motion leading to the debate on SI 105. The Minister answered some but not all of the questions involved and since then, I have received representations from a variety of people, including a representative of the Irish Association of Self Builders. He stated the association was astonished that the Minister, Deputy Hogan, mentioned that self-builders and that organisation had been kept informed and had participated in the formation of the regulation, when in fact he ha not met the association at all. That person also wishes to know, as do I, the reason the Minister has given architects, engineers and surveyors a monopoly on certifying and getting money for each new house and house extension of more than 400 sq. ft. This will add thousands to the cost of a self-build project and while this may not be an issue in urban Ireland, it is an issue in rural Ireland. It is yet another indication to me of the anti-rural attitude the Government has adopted since it first came to power. It will now prevent people in rural Ireland from building their own houses because it will add considerably higher costs to those houses.