Burton defends €200 Irish Water bill claim

Tánaiste Joan Burton has insisted she and Taoiseach Enda Kenny are “on the same page” following criticism of her claim that the Irish Water bill for a family of two adults and two adult children would come in under €200.

Her defence comes in the wake of Labour Party Senators today voting with the Opposition and against their Coalition partners Fine Gael to back a referendum to ensure Irish Water remains in public ownership.

Ms Burton said there was a "great deal of mis-statement in the public domain" in relation to water charges, with claims that charges of up to €1,000 could be levied.

“I don’t believe that bills like that either should be or will be the kind of bills that families or individuals will receive,” she said. “My personal hope is that for some of the family types who were being described yesterday that the cost of the bill including or net of the water support payment will come in around €200 or below.”

The Tánaiste added that she was “very confident that the Taoiseach and I are very much on the same page on that.”

She said the timeline for the development of Irish Water had been “extremely ambitious”.

Asked about the possibility of extending the period during which homeowners would pay a fixed-rate water charge until 2018, Ms Burton confirmed it was “being looked at”.

She said three years was needed to generate capital investment and a significant period of time was also required for meter roll-out. An additional period to allow people to learn about their water consumption and have opportunities to conserve and reduce consumption would also be required.

“You’re talking about I would have thought a minimum period of two years and in practice I would have thought that you’re talking about a period that would extend somewhat further.”

Ms Burton moved to play down the significance of Labour Senators voting with the Opposition for a referendum on Irish Water

She said she had no problem with people exploring ideas. It was an issue worth examining but no political party in Leinster House wanted to see Irish Water privatised.

Her spokesman later added that Ms Burton was only expressing her view. He said work on the revised water package is ongoing at the EMC.

Another Government source said that the Tánaiste’s figures were “probably an underestimation”.

Meanwhile, earlier today Minister for Health Leo Varadkar said he expects the annual bill to be about €250 for the average household.

The Minister said this figure was his estimate and that he had not been involved in any Government discussions about exact figures for water charges.

When asked if the Tánaiste had jumped the gun by saying the cost would be below €200 for a family of four, he repeated that the package hadn’t been finalised.

Mr Varadkar also said the size of the protest against the water charges was a wake-up call for Government, but most people know that their introduction is the right thing to do.

“We are listening to what people are saying. That doesn’t mean water charges are going to be abolished. I think deep down most of us know that’s the right thing to do. But we are going to put together a package of measures that address people’s concerns about affordability, about privacy and about the quality of water that people receive.”

He told RTÉ a maximum fee for a number of years, rather than a flat fee, would give people confidence.