Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not doubt the Minister of State's integrity in that regard, but it would have been helpful to have provided that information so that people would have an estimate of the cost and whatever free allocation they might get.

There are thousands of apartments in Dublin city and I understand it will not be possible to meter those units individually, which gives rise to an equality issue. People will feel that those living in apartments can use all they want and just pay a flat fee. While I am not having a go, there are many bits and pieces that should have been at least outlined more comprehensively before the Minister of State decided to bring the legislation to the House. While I know the Minister is under constraints and that there is pressure to reach targets defined in the memorandum of understanding, I would have thought that the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government in consultation with the Minister of State and his officials would have been able to present a more comprehensive set of measures that met with the expectations and the desire for information, considering the challenges that will be faced by the public at large in this regard.

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