Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Senator Mooney also raised the issue of water charges. This morning, the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, made clear on "Morning Ireland" that no decision had been made, nothing had been signed off and Labour Party Ministers in particular felt they had not received enough notice or information to come to a decision on the method of charging. The figures given are average figures, with an average meter charge of €240. My colleague Senator Paul Coghlan pointed out that this is less than the average set out by the Fianna Fáil four-year programme in 2010, which proposed an average charge of €400 and stated that it would transfer water services to a water utility.