Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

I wanted the senior Minister here or at least the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, who were the ones who made statements last week with regard to free water for those under 18 years according to the Government scheme and to answer for the fact that every objective yardstick available to the Department shows that the allowance they have proposed does not add up to that.

The Minister, Deputy Hogan, stated on RTE television news on Wednesday last that the water tax for a family of five, which could be two parents and, for example, three students over 18, would be €450 a year. The Taoiseach stated a few weeks ago that when subsidies from central taxation to water production are ended, which is the Government and the European Union policy, the average tax would be €580 per year per household. I wonder whether the Government has any clue of the crushing new economic burden that these demands will place on ordinary householders.

On the immediate issue on which I need clarification today, Deputy Hogan stated in Dáil Éireann on Tuesday, 6 May, that an allowance of 38,000 litres a year for those under 18 meant "that water charges will...only apply to adults". On national RTE television news on Tuesday also, the Minister stated that, effectively, children, meaning those under 18 years, are free. On Wednesday, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, stated that the 38,000 litres a year allowance for every under 18 year old, "results in free water for children." That is false and I require the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, to correct that today.

The study, Water Supply Project - Dublin Region, which was commissioned and sponsored by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, found average usage of water in Dublin to be 148 litres per person per day, that is, 54,000 litres a year. The Government states that so-called "free" water for those under 18 years means 38,000 litres per year. A 17 year old does not need to wash less, drink less or use sanitary facilities less than, let us say, a 20 year old and the 38,000 litre allowance for a 17 year old is 16,000 litres short of what, according to the water supply project of the Department, a 17 year old would use in a year. Therefore, there is not free water for those under 18 years, as the Ministers state. In case Deputy Jan O'Sullivan comes back and states that perhaps they could economise, according to the projections in the document to which I refer, with all metering and charging in place by 2030 the average use will be 130 litres per person per day, which is still 10,000 litres more than the free allowance for those under 18 years. I need the Minister of State to clarify, tell the people the truth of this matter, admit that the figures are incorrect and correct them.

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