John Lyons (Dublin North West, Labour)

That is, from the previous Fianna Fáil Government, because it is responsible for today's debate on water metering. We have been left with this legacy and we are trying to come up with a system that is as fair as possible. As the Minister himself said when speaking earlier, this is a fair funding model.

Any introduction of metering, which is going to happen, must be fair and must take into account those who do not have the ability to pay, such as those on social welfare. I believe an adequate general household allowance must be given to families around the country, and for usage over and above this we must operate on the "polluter pays" principle.

I agree with most of my colleagues on both sides, but we must be realistic in this debate. We need to have some sort of metering system.

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