Households who don't pay water charges could see bills double in three years

Households who do not pay the water charge could face bills and penalties of more than €1,000 within three years.

The Government has confirmed that penalties for not paying the charges will continue to mount over time.

Alan Kelly told the Dáil that penalties will be added to unpaid water bills every year. A briefing document prepared for TDs confirms that those penalties will continue to accumulate over time.

It means an average family would face a total bill of €1,140, instead of a net total of €480 in charges.

Meanwhile, the Irish Property Owners Association has said it will not tolerate plans to hand over responsibility for unpaid water bills to landlords.

Under measures outlined by the Environment Minister yesterday, when a tenancy changes over the registration of the new tenant with Irish Water will be subject to any arrears being paid.

Landlords whose tenants refuse to pay will be entitled to withhold their security deposits and hand the money over to Irish Water.

Property owners' groups say the charges will mount up so quickly, that in some cases taking the money from a tenant's deposit still will not cover the bill.