Low-income households may get waiver

An Oireachtas committee is expected to call for a waiver system to protect low-income households once water charging begins.

An interim draft report, seen by the Irish Examiner, states: “If charging for domestic water consumption, then the balance of views and available research would also suggest that a waiver system should be put in place to protect low-income households.”

The document suggests that in order to incentivise water conservation, “a grant scheme could be established to encourage householders to install meters, check the pipes on their boundaries for leaks, buy water conservation devices such as low-flow showers, install rainwater harvesting systems and water purification systems”.