Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A household with two adults will pay less than €160, which is the cap, when they draw down the €100 in social welfare. A household like mine, with two adults and three children, that uses less than 135,000 litres per year will pay less than the cap. The incentive still exists. It is important that people deal with the facts rather than try to create an illusion that water meters are irrelevant. They are far from it. They are still very relevant to what households will pay, even with the new relatively low cap, and they are essential to finding the leaks Irish Water needs to fix.

There will be real flexibility of payment. Many families across the country are put to the pin of their collars and will find it difficult to pay water charges. If people are struggling to pay what may look like a relatively small amount of money to some but is a large amount of money for them, they will be able to put payment systems in place and, if necessary, pay €5 at a time with An Post or other electronic systems in their localities. We are maintaining a free allowance for children based on the average use of a child, 21,000 litres per year. This family friendly measure will ensure families will not be discriminated against because they have children.

Public ownership seems to be one of the points of concern people still have. We have made a commitment that any future Government will either have to change the legislation we have put in place, which would be political suicide, or have a plebiscite or referendum on the privatisation of Irish Water. We are happy to make this commitment because there is no intention at all by Fine Gael or the Labour Party to privatise the utility, ever. The NewERA strategy is consistent with my statement. I am responsible for writing Fine Gael’s next election manifesto, part of which will be a very clear commitment not to consider the privatisation of Irish Water. Unless another party that aspires to be in government has an intention to privatise Irish Water, it will not happen. It is important to kill that misconception and not to create unfounded fears.

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