Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Many other factors must come into play. Most countries have water charges, which are metered, and they are much cheaper. When a question was posed about this at the meeting, the CER officials explained that these systems took a longer time to introduce and have been on the go for a long time and they described them as incentive-based. We do not seem to be in that place. This, among other issues, is a source of much of the discontent among the public.

On the other hand, we have to do something. Up to 40% of water is leaking from the system while raw sewage is entering special areas of conservation and water courses and water passing through taps is not fit for consumption. Something has to be done because the current system is not working. Notwithstanding the figures that have been bandied about in the debate, water services infrastructure was not delivered in my county when the country was awash with money and, therefore, the system that divided funding between 34 local authorities was flawed.

There are good principles underpinning what is going on, but the bonus issue is a debacle. Until all meters are installed and more scientific data are provided, people should be subject to a fixed charge. However, they are afraid of the charges. Affordability is of great concern and I do not blame people for that. Data are needed to address issues about which there are questions because we must give certainty to people. We want to fix the pipes and get that work done. We need to put a price on that and translate it in an affordable fashion to a fixed price until we are ready to move on with metering, which will, in turn, lead to conservation and all the positive aspects of this project. We need to charge for water but it needs to be affordable and we need to remove the uncertainty for people.

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