John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

Following a decision by the Government, my Department is finalising proposals for the installation of water meters in households served by public water supplies. These proposals will give effect to the commitment in the renewed programme for Government to introduce charging for domestic water in a way that is fair, significantly reduces waste and is easily applied. I expect to bring these proposals to the Government in the coming weeks. The installation of water meters in households connected to public supplies will encourage householders to conserve water and will result in savings in the significant operational costs faced by local authorities in providing water and waste water services. This will complement the significant increases in investment on water conservation measures in the Water Services Investment Programme 2010-12 that I announced earlier this year.

The primary objectives of the proposed investment are to promote more sustainable water consumption by households, to reduce water loss in the distribution networks to an economic level and to address unacceptably high levels of unaccounted for water in some locations. I expect the metering programme to be under way next year. I will provide further detail on these matters following their consideration and approval by Government.

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