MINISTER FOR the Environment Phil Hogan has ruled out the introduction of flat-rate water charges.

He said there would be a “pay- as-one-uses” system through water metering. “It will operate as an effective water conservation measure and will deal with a finite resource in the interests of households, businesses and jobs.”

Mr Hogan said there would be a “generous allowance” to assist low-income families. “If people want to waste water, they will pay for it, which should be the case.”

Water networks would continue in public ownership and a water-harvesting programme would be included as part of the water conservation programme.

He said people would only be satisfied paying for any service if it was of good quality.

“We cannot underestimate the challenge to improve water quality to the extent we need to in order to ensure we meet our side of the bargain by giving the people a good quality product.”

Mr Hogan said evidence from the National Federation of Group Water Schemes, which had been a strong advocate of water metering, suggested that much of the water lost from the group schemes through leakage was on the customer side.

The installation of meters would ensure that leaks could be identified and fixed, he added.

His intention, he said, was that the metering programme would begin early next year and would be largely completed over a five-year period, although he expected to see significant progress in the first three years.

“I am acutely aware that the economic decline overseen by the previous government has made life harder for most households throughout the country. As set out in the programme for government, all households will be provided with a free allowance of water and charges will only apply to usage above that allowance.”

The Minister was responding to a Sinn Féin Private Member’s motion rejecting “the use of stealth taxes and other forms of regressive double taxation” as a funding mechanism for domestic water and asserting that it should come from central taxation.

Sinn Féin’s Brian Stanley said the motion’s purpose was to restate his party’s opposition to the Government’s proposed introduction of water charges.

“People should not be obliged to pay twice for this essential public service, which is recognised as a basic human right.”

In opposition, he said, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore had produced a leaflet claiming that water charges were just another tax on workers.

“People cannot afford another charge on top of the money they are already being obliged to pay out.”

Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said her party wanted to see efficient, effective and economic public services delivered to the people of the State and beyond.

Martin Ferris (SF) said water charges had nothing to do with conservation or even local finances. They were all about finding more ways of extracting people’s hard-earned household budgets to pay back an unsustainable debt.

Niall Collins (FF) said they did not know the number of free litres for each domestic household or what the charge for usage above it would be.

He said the public was anxious to know whether the household utility charge would disappear when a properly constructed infrastructure was provided to deliver water and meter it and when there was a fair charging system for usage above the free quota.

Catherine Murphy (Ind) said she questioned whether the free allowance referred to by the Government was an introductory offer to gain acceptance of the system.