Dáil debates

Thursday, 19 January 2017

4:25 pm

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

I said that if there were no charging for water this year the State would have to find an extra €114 million, but that I expected there would be some charge for the wasting of water that would bring the figure down below €100 million.

It has been deduced from my comments that I am saying this will equal €14 million, but that is not actually the case. The water committee will determine this when it makes its decision on what constitutes normal usage of water. In other words, it will decide on the level above which people should be asked to make a contribution for wasting water. I do not think the alternative approach, which involves asking the taxpayer to pay for people who are wasting water, is a credible one. That will be a decision for the committee to make. The number of people who will have to pay for over-use or wastage of water will depend on where the committee decides to set the bar or benchmark with regard to average usage plus a certain percentage for the purposes of flexibility. I do not think we can provide a credible guesstimate of the income that will be received by the State or by Irish Water until we know that figure.

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