Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

What about the €400 that the previous Government was going to charge everybody in 2010? Fianna Fáil's leader signed up to it. People are able to read. They are not stupid.

The subsidy provided to members of group water schemes will also be adjusted to be aligned with the free allowance approach for public water supplies. This will ensure that the sector receives equivalent support while at the same time allowing for transitional actions which may be required to sustain improvements in water quality. Fianna Fáil can scrap the canvassing literature where it says that rural people will have to pay these water charges. There will be no charge on private wells or for those on group water schemes who get their water from private water sources. It is my intention to use the powers provided to me under the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 to issue a statutory direction to the regulator requiring it to take a number of issues into account to ensure that charges are implemented in a manner that is fair and equitable. This will include fixing the first domestic water tariffs it approves until the end of 2016. It will also reflect the Government decision that charges should be capped for people with high water usage due to medical conditions. The precise conditions of this will be determined in consultation with the Minister for Health. The direction will also require that for social and environmental reasons there should be no standing charge for domestic customers, but there may be a minimum charge for properties that are not permanently occupied - for example, holiday homes. The direction will also address the need for assessed charges for customers who have not been metered by the time charges commence to be based primarily on occupancy to ensure they are as close a proxy for metered usage as possible. The assessed charges will be refined if required as more and more properties are metered and consumption data becomes available. The direction will also address the need for the CER to make provision for retrospective adjustment of charges, including rebates - above a reasonable threshold - in the context of transitional arrangements for customers who are moving from assessed charges to metered charges and the need for Irish Water to take account of the quality of services it provides to customers, including circumstances in which services are reduced or restricted - for example, due to boil water notices.

The Government recognises that the domestic metering programme will highlight a significant number of properties where water usage is very high due to leakages on the property. To support water conservation and prevent households from being faced with large water bills, Irish Water will be introducing a first fix scheme which will provide each household with a free fix of the first leak on the customer's water supply pipe. The cost of this programme is estimated at €51 million. The announcement today provides certainty to households around the level of water charges that will be involved when the first bills are issued next year. An average charge of €240 for domestic customers in Ireland will compare very favourably internationally. In tandem with agreeing the level of Government subvention to Irish Water for 2015 and 2016 which will ensure that the average tariff does not exceed this level, the Government has also agreed to provide funding to Irish Water in 2015 and 2016 to allow for a more ambitious capital investment programme. It has been agreed that this programme will be increased by €200 million over the next two years. This demonstrates the commitment of the Government to accelerate investment in our water services infrastructure to deal with the historical deficits bequeathed to this Government by its predecessors and provide a reformed water sector with a greater resilience and level of quality.

Before I conclude, it is worth recalling that when this Government took office we were required to implement commitments given by the previous Government to the EU, the IMF and the European Central Bank. One of those commitments provided for the introduction of domestic water charges with no provision for metering by the end of 2012. This Government decided that water charges should be based on metered consumption, as this is the fairest way to charge for water, and we have put in place the measures and structures to achieve this. We also secured agreement to defer the introduction of water charges until the final quarter of 2014 rather than 2012, which was the year in which the previous Government thought they should be implemented.

I will conclude by saying that, like the commitments contained in the programme for Government, the commitments that were made to provide clarity on the level of charges have been honoured. This Government has delivered on its plans for reform and will continue to deliver with the aim of ensuring we have a first-class water services and one which is affordable for consumers.

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