Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate what the Minister said and support the Bill. However, I am still not clear on the use of the word "ordinary". It is addressed in some respects in the next couple of pages, but what if somebody wishes to frustrate the intentions of the legislation? It will be necessary to check on people. For example, I might say there are seven people living in a house when there might only be two. I could, therefore, leave the taps on all day. I am not suggesting anybody would do so, but I have no doubt that it might happen. There will be a grave difficulty in that regard.

I am still concerned about a point I made earlier. I appreciate that a single parent will usually, although not always, have young children. Single parents were identified as a vulnerable group. It might be more to do with their income or capacity to pay water charges if they had to pay them. I do not see an exemption for persons in that category. Perhaps it is not intended because, regardless of whether people are in that group, the Minister could argue that they did not use excessive amounts of water. I am also concerned about children, teenagers and older people who use a lot of water. It will have an impact depending on the person involved. That is the reason the volumes are important. I accept that 70% of households comprise four or fewer people.

I am still concerned about the use of the word "ordinary" and defining it. The question of water poverty is probably more related to income than volumetric use, but I still believe children will probably use more water than the Minister expects. There is also the issue of larger families.