Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

At the end of the day, taxpayers are paying for it. Our problem was that we were trying to reduce the burden on PAYE workers and to place an even burden on everybody who uses water in this country, and not just those who go to work every day. Maybe we did not do that quite as well as we could have done. I guarantee Deputies that when I am standing here nine or 12 months from now - whenever the commission reports its findings against the backdrop of an EU directive that sets out the legislation to which this country needs to adhere - I will be advocating, as I have done for the last three years, that there should be generous allowances in our family homes and special clauses for people with particular medical conditions and for children. We can do all of that and - please God - it will be done within the commission. However, people who choose to use more than their allowances, to whom I say "fair play to you, off you go", will have to pay for that water. I refer, for example, to those who water their gardens every day of the week because they want luscious green grass and those who want to have a bath every night of the week. By contrast, those who conserve water and contribute towards the management of a finite resource will benefit from a quality investment structure in this country. We can all be part of it together.

I am the first to acknowledge we have made mistakes in recent years. Lots and lots of people paid their bills. We will not argue about whether the accurate figure is 61%. I do not believe we brought those who paid their bills with us. We sort of dragged them along. People wanted to be law-abiding. Everybody needs to be law-abiding in this country. That is why I firmly believe those who have not yet paid their bills will have to do so. When we are all back here nine, ten or 11 months from now, we will be talking about the merits of charging people who use excessive amounts of water and providing a high-quality water system for every citizen of this country.

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