Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I actually received a paper on that recently. Somebody obviously had the same thoughts as Ms O'Brien.

I have a question on Professor Collins's point on vulnerable households and excess use, particularly for medical needs. It also concerns the financial side. If we had an excessive usage charge in place and if there were a vulnerable household that was not necessarily recognised as such, would there be a danger that what is being proposed might lead to an element of water poverty? Right across the spectrum of users, can Mr. Wright see such a scenario arising? There would have to be fairly robust self-declaration systems in place. Problems can arise. We could go down a road with our eyes wide open but come upon a problem, such as water poverty, after a period.