Cianan Brennan: Paying for water is normal everywhere else — so why not in Ireland?

Across Europe, households pay for water in different ways — but Ireland remains a singular outlier after scrapping charges

The prospect of water charges saw thousands protest against the move by the then Fine Gael/Labour government in 2014. File Picture: Des Barry.

A decade ago, Ireland was sundered by mass protests over prospective water charges — a movement which shook the then Fine Gael/Labour government to its foundations.

In an era of post-crash austerity, the move to introduce an additional utility payment on top of gas and electricity that households were used to, perhaps predictably, went down like a lead balloon.

The issue has become such a thorny one in an Irish context that even attempts by the current Government to introduce an excess-usage charge for households using more than their fair share of water have foundered.

Meanwhile, the water charges era saw the creation of a new State utility: Irish Water (now Uisce Éireann).

A decade later, it presides over a pipe network which leaks like a sieve but which has no domestic market available from which to feed itself

This is somewhat remarkable when you consider that paying for water is something of a given, both for Irish businesses and for domestic users across Ireland’s fellow EU states, albeit the way the charge is administered varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. And these are not particularly controversial costs.

The region closest to us, Britain, sees varying approaches used in order for people to pay for their water.

In England and Wales, bills are mandatory and calculated depending on whether your household is metered or not. If it is, you are billed for your precise usage. Many councils apply higher rates as usage increases across specific tiers. 

If no meter is present, annual service charges apply while usage is benchmarked according to domestic rates for the property’s size.

Scottish citizens pay for their water via their local council tax, unless an individual chooses to pay by meter specifically.

Northern Ireland exception

Northern Ireland is the exception to the British rule. Similar to the Republic, there are no water charges in place in the North. 

Instead, it is funded indirectly via the country’s property tax. 

However, given the precarious nature of the North’s infrastructure generally, the perceived need for water charges there is no less controversial than it is in the South

In the majority of European countries, water charges are set by municipal authorities rather than by a central regulator.

A number of factors can lead to differing levels of charges from region to region — from family size, to variances in wastewater and sanitation charges, to different rates being applied by separate utility companies.

In Portugal, a country far more accustomed to hot weather and water conservation than Ireland, there are 308 separate municipalities, with variances in water charges amounting to as much as €1,500 annually from region to region.

Some countries, such as Portugal and Spain, charge consumers for drinking water and sewage services separately. Others, such as Italy, present a combined final bill.

In the majority of European countries, water charges are set by municipal authorities rather than by a central regulator. Picture: iStock

However, every EU nation bar Ireland has metered billing. Meters were introduced in Ireland at a cost of more than €500m prior to the abolition of water charges in 2015. They remain in situ, but have yet to be used for their designated purpose.

The most expensive water across the bloc tends to be in Scandinavian countries — with Norway and Denmark, countries with similarly high wages and living standards, noting the highest annual domestic water bills. It's an average of €970 for the former, although billing levels vary widely across Norway’s municipalities.

Tiered pricing, similar to that seen in England and Wales where rates climb as usage increases, is typically seen in Mediterranean countries such as Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece where water conservation is of key importance.

The cheapest water across the EU is in Bulgaria — with an average bill of €120 — with similarly low prices seen in other southern European countries like Greece and Italy.

Oslo in Norway, Stuttgart in Germany, and Copenhagen in Denmark are the cities with the highest level of domestic water bills in the EU per their own individual municipal authorities.

While charges vary across Europe, Ireland stands out as having the cheapest water utility anywhere on the continent. 

It’s unclear what would have to happen to make the idea of paying for water politically palatable here.