Water charges: ‘Government literally cannot give away €100’

The low take-up of the water-conservation grant is an indication that opposition to water charges is so strong the Government “literally cannot give away €100”, according to an opposition party.

The Anti-Austerity Alliance made the claim after it emerged that fewer than 600,000 households have applied for the €100 grant ahead of the deadline at midnight on Thursday.

The Department of Social Protection sent about 1.3m letters to households with instructions on how those who have registered with Irish Water can receive the grant. Fewer than 600,000 households had applied as of yesterday.

The Anti-Austerity Alliance said the figures point to a sustained opposition to water charges.

“This is another PR stunt from Irish Water and the Government that was an attempt to bribe people into acceptance of Irish Water that has backfired on them,” said Dublin City councillor Michael O’Brien.

“You have a situation where Irish Water is now so hated, and opposition to the water charges is so strong, that they literally cannot give away €100.

“The numbers who have applied for the grant roughly mirror the number of people who paid the first bill; however, when you factor in that this figure excludes over 400,000 houses who haven’t registered with Irish Water and includes people who are not eligible to pay water charges the figures read even worse for Irish Water.

“So despite there being no onus on people to pay the bill to claim the grant, the majority of people are refusing to even engage with Irish Water to claim a free €100 because they see it as a bribe.”

Cork City councillor Mick Barry said that the figures for Irish Water’s second billing are due to be released soon.

“Whether the numbers for the second bill show the boycott going up or down, it will be bad news for the Government and for Irish Water as they will show that there is still a strong and numerous boycott of the water charge,” he said.

“Irish Water must release the figures this week. They must not be allowed to hold back the figures till next week in an attempt to bury the bad news during budget week.”

Meanwhile, Irish Water has claimed the installation of water meters has saved an estimated 18m litres of water every day through the identification of previously undetected leaks at households.

The utility said that under its ‘first fix free’ scheme, it has repaired almost 1,300 leaks, saving over 11m litres of water every day, while a further 2,200 households that Irish Water has alerted have undertaken their own repairs, saving a further 7m litres every day.

“Repairing leaks on household water pipes whether inside or outside the house will save water and save money, in both the short and long term, and will help to secure a sustainable water supply to Irish Water customers,” said Jerry Grant, head of assets at Irish Water, adding that “repairing a leak can help to prevent reduced water pressure or supply interruptions in customers’ homes”.

To apply for the grant, go to www.watergrant.ie  or phone [phone]