Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

That is very helpful. To follow up on that, I have a point related to some questions already asked. If we arrive at a position in which those under Irish Water do not have any charges, we must have an arrangement whereby, at least in terms of current expenditure as opposed to capital expenditure, those in group water schemes do not end up paying charges from their own pockets. Some of Deputy Barry Cowen's questions were on figuring out how much that would cost. The question on the average bill for an individual is very important.

I have heard that the average charge, with the subsidy, would be around €100, €120 or €140. Is that in the right ballpark? If subsidies were doubled, at a cost of €25 million, we would probably be able to eliminate current charges. What is the experience of the witnesses in regard to this question?