Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 18 January 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services

Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, and Department of Finance

1:30 pm

Photo of Eoin Ó BroinEoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My understanding of Deputy Colm Brophy's question is that he wants to know, if water charges are abolished, what will be the extra cost to the taxpayer. The answer was that it would be in the region of €200 million. I am saying the cost of paying the water conservation grant of €100 million and the figure of €24 million for billing costs would have to be taken from that sum. Therefore, the actual net cost to the State of the abolition of water charges would be significantly less than €200 million.