Bath set to cost 16 cent while a shower will set you back 25 cent

The cost of water in homes where more than one adult child still lives with their parents will be at least €350 a year, based on figures provided by Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan this week.

Both the Minister and Irish Water have refused to comment on how much individual units of water will cost once the new billing regime comes into place in October. But on the basis of figures provided by Mr Hogan, a litre of water is set to come with a price tag of at least 0.2 cent.

The Minister has said that the average household using 140,000 litres of water a year will pay €240 in charges after receiving a free allocation of 30,000 litres. This means 110,000 litres of water will cost €240, according to the Minister’s figures – which works out at 0.22 cent per litre.

Once the rounded figure of 0.2 cent is used, a much clearer picture emerges as to the likely cost of the water and for many households the annual bill will be considerably higher than the average highlighted by Mr Hogan this week.

Average annual cost
According to the Department of the Environment, the average person uses 51,000 litres of water each year. If the charge of 0.2 cent is applied to each litre, then the average annual cost for one person climbs to €102. When the free allowance of 30,000 litres per household, which Mr Hogan characterised as "generous", is factored in, the cost for a family of two parents and two children over 18 quickly climbs to €348.

With a per unit charge of 0.2 cent applied, the cost of routine household activities also becomes clearer. A bath filled with 80 litres of water will cost 16 cent while a power shower using 125 litres, will cost 25 cent – or €91 every year.

An Irish Water spokesman, who declined to comment on these calculations, said establishing a per litre price was the remit of the Commission for Energy Regulation, which would not be making any public announcement until the autumn.