Mr. Paul McGowan:

The details of how customers will be treated in circumstances where they cannot pay will be set out in the handbook we will publish. This, in turn, will have to be translated into codes of practice by Uisce Éireann. They will clearly set out the process the company would go through in a situation where somebody had difficulty in paying his or her bill. The position on non-payment would be very much the same as that which applies in the case of gas and electricity, namely, disconnection for non-domestic customers and restricted flow for domestic customers. This would be viewed very much as a last resort. We would be looking at a staged process designed to try to ensure the customer would be put in a certain position. In the case of gas and electricity, we have payment plans and so forth which can be put in place. Disconnection of electricity and gas is the equivalent of restricted flow in the case of water and we very much view both as a last resort. The details in this regard have yet to be set out, but they will be published for consultation as part of the overall consultation process on customer protection and the structure of water charges. We do not envisage at this point that there would be penalties for non-payment. Ms Mannion will answer the Deputy's question on that matter.