Water: Householders will foot water-meter bill
Friday December 11 2009
HOUSEHOLDERS face having to pay the cost of installing water meters in their homes when water charging is introduced in 2011.
Hard-pressed homeowners, already hit with a carbon tax and facing a property tax from 2011, may be forced to pay a standing charge on their water bill to recoup the cost of installing the meters.
Domestic water fees were abolished in 1997 but Finance Minister Brian Lenihan announced in the Budget that charges would come back into force, probably from 2011.
However, how the scheme will work has yet to be decided.
The Government is considering the possibility of introducing the charge on a staggered basis, where some homeowners will pay before others as the system is rolled out.
The total cost of implementing the scheme will be €600m over two years.
Some 1.1 million homes will have the meters installed, and 3,000 jobs will be created each year rolling out the system.
It is understood the contracts to install the meters will be tendered on a regional basis.
The Department of the Environment will spend €508m next year building water treatment plants, and yesterday Environment Minister John Gormley said that each household will be allocated a certain amount of water for "free", after which consumption would be charged.
"Households will be allocated a free basic allowance, with charging only for water use in excess of this allowance," Mr Gormley told the Dail.
"Metered charges are a common feature in nearly all developed countries and help to provide water users with an understanding of the economic value of what is becoming an increasingly expensive resource."
- Paul Melia
Irish Independent
