Michael Noonan: Charges to stay for four years

The new water charges to be unfolded tomorrow by the Government will remain the same for up to four years, Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said.

He said the new charges are ‘not a million miles’ from figures speculated in the media in recent days.

These figures put a €76 charge on one-adult households and under €200 on homes with two or more adults. Mr Noonan, who was confronted by about 80 water protesters when he arrived for an event at the Absolute Hotel in Limerick, said: “It (water charge) is built on two principles: one is the principle of affordability, in other words that the amounts of charge involved would be quite low and not a million miles from the figures quoted in the media.