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

The Government was warned about the savage impact that the charges regime would have on families with four adults, or those with two or more adult children. I and others warned the Taoiseach time and again in the Dáil, but the Government simply ignored the issue and carried on. The meters have been ticking for the past five weeks. This means charging began on 1 October, but nobody has a clue what the water bills will be. The Government is now telling the media there will be flat charges, but the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, is boasting that a meter is being installed every 30 seconds. For what reason are they being installed?

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