Clarity on water charges to come ‘shortly’, says Kenny

The Government will “very shortly” take decisions on Irish Water that will provide greater clarity about the utility and the charges the public will face, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said.

Speaking in Dublin this afternoon, Mr Kenny said the delivery of good, clean water to businesses and homes was important and needed investment.

“Government will make its decision on this very shortly and will be clear and accurate about it so that people have confidence in knowing what it is that the contribution they have to make, what its for and what they get in return for that,” he said during a speech at Facebook’s offices in Dublin.

Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly earlier indicated that he expected changes to the water charges regime in the next week or so.

“Principal amongst that is addressing the issue of water charges and how the charging system is going to work. They are going to be changed. I think they are going to reflect the concerns of the people,” he said.

“I think the charges are going to be modest and there also is a requirement for certainty over a long period of time.”

Speaking to reporters at Irish Water headquarters in Dublin, Mr Kelly said “a lot of mistakes” had been made in relation to the establishment of the utility.

The idea that the largest utility to be created in the history of the State could be set up in a couple of years was wrong, he said.

Mr Kelly also said it was “inappropriate” that legislation to set up the utility had been “rushed” through the Oireachtas last year.

Asked about the possibility of a referendum to ensure Irish Water stays in public ownership, as proposed by the Green Party, Mr Kelly did not rule it out but he said there may be another mechanism to address this issue through the Oireachtas.

Irish Water managing director John Tierney said he wnated to apologise “to our customers for mistakes that have been made”.

“We are working with the Government to address all of the issues that have arisen. We are absolutely committed to getting this right. For me this is all about people. People in terms of having a good quality water supply.”

Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton said this afternoon abolishing water charges would halt job creation and lead to income tax hikes.

He said the charges could be viewed as “an anti-austerity measure if you like because it leverages investment in our infrastructure in the here and now which could not be funded by Government.

“Michael Noonan has rightly said that if you did not have an Irish Water, you would have to raise close to €900 million.”

“If we do not do this you’re going to have to raise an alternative tax and it’s very clear that tax would have worse impact on job creation than this one,” he said.

“By introducing this approach, we’ll be able to leverage double the amount of investment than if you didn’t have a charging system for water.”

Earlier Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney said there was no chance Irish Water will be scrapped in the wake of Saturday's protest marches.

Speaking on RTÉ radio from China this morning, Mr Coveney acknowledged attempts to introduce the charges had "not worked as they should" and that communication around the issue had been "very poor."

“There has been a lot of confusion, frustration and anger quite frankly where people still aren’t quite sure what they will be paying… and the fact some people will have meters and some will not by the time charges come in has frustrated people,” he said.

Mr Coveney said there was one certainty, which was that the new utility would not be scrapped.

Fianna Fáil leader Micháel Martin called for a suspension of water charges in order to review them and to develop a fair and equitable system.

“We need a comprehensive debate on the issue which we have never had in Dáil Éireann because people will recall that the Government rammed the legislation through establishing Irish Water in about three hours without adequate debate or engagement with all parties,” he said.

Asked whether he would be paying the charges himself, Mr Martin said he would be paying it on the basis that it was the law of the land. He said he would support a referendum forbidding the privatisation of Irish Water, saying people did not accept the Government’s reassurance on that point.

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said he has decided not to pay his water charges bill.

His move follows a similar statement by the party’s deputy leader Mary-Lou McDonald at the weekend.

When Sinn Féin launched its pre-budget submission last month, Mr Adams, Ms McDonald and other senior party figures said they would pay the water charges.

However, Mr Adams today said: “Sinn Féin is standing firmly with those families and hard pressed citizens who very simply cannot pay the Government’s water tax. As a mark of solidarity, I have decided that I will not pay this Government’s water tax.