Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

At the outset I compliment Deputy Barry Cowen for drafting the motion and my colleague, Deputy Calleary, for moving the motion.

As the Minister is well aware, many people are already to the pin of their collar to get by financially on a week to week basis. Putting aside the jockeying and the politics of Fine Gael and Labour on this issue over the past three weeks, the bottom line is that the introduction of water meters here will be the straw that breaks the camel's back for many families.

I have learned from examining statistics down the years that averages can be very misleading, and it is worth teasing out in more detail some of the facts the Minister put on the record today by way of the Government decision. The average charge of €240 per household includes households where there is only one occupant, therefore, the average is immediately dragged down by that fact because it includes all those people. On the "Six One News" a couple of hours ago the Minister made the point that the average gross charge per adult is €138, therefore, for two adults in a house the average charge is almost €280, not €240 because the €240 includes properties occupied by only one adult.

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