Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 203: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the proposed timescale for the introduction of water charges and the expected level of charge or the parameters of such a charge being considered or recommended by his officials or others; if he envisages the charges being levied and collected in a similar way to the current waste charges; the way the charges will be applied to single family dwellings, a house divided into self-contained units, and an apartment block and the person responsible for payment in each of these types of dwellings whether owned or rented privately or through local authorities or housing agencies; if charges will be levied on bored wells or waste water collection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26176/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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In December 2009, following a decision by Government, I informed the House that I would be bringing forward proposals for the installation of water meters in households served by public water supplies. These proposals will give effect to the commitment in the renewed Programme for Government to introduce charging for domestic water in a way that is fair, significantly reduces waste and is easily applied. I expect to bring these proposals to Government in the coming weeks.

The proposals will include draft legislation to remove the prohibition on charging for domestic water services and will also address the arrangements for the delivery of the water metering programme, cost estimates and how these costs are to be financed, as well as plans for the development of a pricing structure for domestic water services. I will provide further details on these matters following their consideration and approval by Government. As is the case currently with water charges for the non-domestic sector, the domestic water charge will comprise a charge for both the water supply service and the wastewater treatment service. There are no proposals to charge households providing their own water supply from private sources such as a bored well.