Paschal Donohoe: Do not dig up water meters
Paschal Donohoe also cautioned against the “lure” by politicians for everything to be paid for by general taxation in the wake of the scrapping of the current water charging regime.
He signalled the recent squabbling and outcome on water charges and meters was “not a recipe” to be repeated, for handling more important national matters such as public pay.
“The saga in relation to water charges and water has been a very difficult one in recent years.”
The minister said the outcome of the Oireachtas water committee recommendations was the best result for Ireland in that the 900,000 domestic meters would still have a role: There would still be a charging regime for water and Irish Water would remain.
Asked about suggestions by Solidarity TD Paul Murphy that homeowners should get rid of their water meters to stop a new billing or levies system, the Fine Gael minister answered: “They shouldn’t do that, they shouldn’t be encouraged to do that.
“The role of these meters will be recognised again in legislation in terms of their role in tracking water consumption and tracking excessive usage of water. They were laid broadly through the use of taxpayers money.”
He told Newstalk radio: “I think we have a real and present risk in the Dáil in the moment which is the lure that everything can be paid for out of a fixed amount of tax revenue or to put it more plainly, the taxpayer will be able to pay for everything.
“I think what we have achieved in relation to water is doable, but it is not a recipe for how we can handle far bigger matters facing our country, like the approaching Budget; like the need to spend wisely in our roads and universities; like how we need to manage public pay.”
And speaking on RTÉ, Mr Donohoe also could not confirm if refunds for previous water bills — estimated at €160m — would be given back to homeowners next year.
“What we’ll have to do is pass the legislation in relation to this whole issue first and, as that is happening, I expect that will lay out a pathway for dealing with that whole issue. But we have a huge number of demands [for the budget] that we have to deal with.”
He outlined the total amount of resources for expenditure available for next year, after benefits for the self-employed and the €5 pension increase are activated, that there would be €250m to €300m free to spend.
“That may change across the year but the demand for that money is clearly going to be great.”
The Government has still to decide how a system of refunds will be paid. Households were asked to pay €60 for a single resident and €160 for larger homes per year under the former regime. Government sources say refunds could be given through a lump sum or possibly by a tax credit. The committee recommendations are expected to be legislated for, including a system of refunds, over the coming weeks.
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