John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I am on record as stating there will be no flat charge and it will be based on metering. I can confirm that to the House, and I have said so on a number of occasions. Quite simply, a flat charge would defeat the purpose. Installing meters means people see it as fair. We can get greater political buy-in and if it is done on a free allocation basis, people will see it as a means of conserving water. It works and this is the whole point of it. We can quickly determine if there are leaks, many of which occur from the footpath to the household. We have discussed this matter at length.

The issue is that I have not yet gone to Government. It would be premature to provide timelines and costs. This can be done and will be labour-intensive. It can be done within two years. Having not gone to Government, I am not in a position to give further details.

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