Michael McCarthy (Labour)

The meter starts running when one enters a taxi and it is there to measure cost not just the distance travelled. There is a fear that metering will be imposed for the specific purpose of charging people for water usage. Given the fiscal situation in this country for the last few years and that many public services have been starved of funds, not least the local authorities for which contributions from the local government fund have decreased significantly, the fear is that metering will be used to charge people for water. Gathering information regarding water usage is an advantage of meters but there are alternative ways of doing this. Mention of the word "metering" lends strong credence to the idea that fees will be introduced for water services and the only purpose of metering will be to introduce costs. I am cognisant of the Minister of State's speech today and I invite him to repeat the statement that there is no Government intention to introduce charges.