Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Those of us who do not want any water charges have made that clear. It would be very useful for the committee's deliberations if the Department or Irish Water were to provide indicative figures so that we can know how much money these charges would bring in if the average usage were set at a certain level and how much it would cost to administer these charges in such circumstances. Many of us are concerned that regardless of whether the relevant figure is €14 million or €30 million, the cost of administering the collection of these moneys would be the same or greater, which would make all of this a pointless exercise. I will repeat the question I asked at the outset. Has the Department looked at what the returns would be if various averages were set, and at what the cost of administration would be in all such circumstances? If not, is it the intention of the Minister or Irish Water to undertake such an exercise in order to assist the committee, which does not have access to the data needed to determine such figures?

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