Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Irish Water has confirmed a story in the Irish Independentthat it has sought the introduction of a standing charge of €100 for all householders. This has shocked many people and has caused a considerable degree of disquiet and anxiety with the public. The Taoiseach promised previously in the House that he would publish, before the local elections, all details on the water tax and the bills that people could expect. People were also promised that there would be a free allowance in advance of any tax coming their way. Many people see the standing charge proposal as a blatant breaking of that promise on a free allowance. The Taoiseach also said in the House that the matter was under consideration by the Government, yet we discover from two Ministers, Deputy Rabbitte and Deputy Burton, that the matter has not even been discussed at the Cabinet since last January. All of that confirms a view that the delay in sending the Government's proposals to the regulator and the delay by the Minister in giving out his instructions is delaying the regulator's timeline for finalising and publishing the water tax bill per household. That is the key point. The idea that people have to pay a standing charge runs contrary to the whole idea of the regime being about the conservation of water, as opposed to just another method of collecting a tax and collecting money. One must now take the view that this is more about collecting money than with the conservation of water or water usage.

Will there be a standing charge in the regime imposed on all homeowners? When will the Government tell the people the truth about all of this? When will the Government publish its proposals on water tax? Will there be a recognition in those proposals of a person's ability to pay?

See this speech in context