Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Irish Water sent out 2 million packs but the figures from the census states that there are 1.65 million occupied households. This is the key point. The legislation state that it shall only be paid to households where the occupier of a dwelling has registered and has provided the information to the Minister for Social Protection. We are clearly talking about occupied households and the Minister clarified that where it is rented housing, social housing, local authority housing, voluntary housing or, as described by Deputy Timmins, private rented flats or apartments. We are all on the one page on that.

The problem is the figures do not add up because there is a discrepancy between the households, as defined in the Bill, and the ones set out in the census figures, which we always take as accurate. The Minister is going on a guesstimate and he has not clarified where the 1.3 million is.

As the person who raised this, I propose we adjourn and that the Minister and his officials come back with figures next Tuesday morning so that we can continue this debate, based on proper information available to us and that we are not here literally shooting in the dark, which is what is happening.

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