Home owners to pay for water meters

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has confirmed that householders will have to pay for water meters, but the issue looks set to spark a row with coalition partners Labour.

On a day of farce within Government, Cabinet members appeared to have very different positions on what had been decided.

The Department of Environment first said that consumers would have to pay installation costs for the meters. Tánaiste and Labour leader Eamon Gilmore then insisted that no decision had yet been taken by the Government, and that it was the Cabinet, and not the department, which would have the final say.