Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is so disappointing we have only an hour. This is the big set-piece event and the Minister has other engagements, which means we have only an hour. This is simply not acceptable and we need to ensure it is not replicated. Some of us travelled far to be here this morning. It is not good enough.

My question is on the water refund. This is something the Minister did not mention in his contribution on the summer economic statement in the Dáil and it did not loom large in his contribution today. Will the Minister explain to us, because we get our information now from interviews the Taoiseach does with the Sunday Independentas opposed to through the democratic process, how a refund will be provided to consumers who paid water charges until now? Will the Minister explain to us how much money is involved, how much money will be taken out of the budget this year to pay for the refund, and from what underspend in particular are we looking at paying the money?