Water refunds on way... but blockages loom

LEGISLATION allowing for water refunds finally passed through the Dáil yesterday – but families face a further wait as it still has to get through the Seanad.

The Bill was held up in the Dáil after a series of amendments were tabled by Sinn Féin and left-wing parties, but eventually passed by a 71-39 majority.

However, the Government warned there could be further delays to people getting their refunds of up to €325 if opposition parties propose further of amendments.

Irish Water has said it will begin paying refunds as soon as the Bill has passed through both Houses, but yesterday Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy acknowledged that not everyone who is entitled to one will receive it before the Government’s own Christmas deadline.

He told the Dáil: ‘Once this Bill passes both Houses, we will be able to begin the process of issuing refunds to as many households as possible. Regrettably, it will not be possible to get them to all households before Christmas.’

More than 30 amendments – including one to rename the Bill ‘Water charges by the back door’ – were ruled out of order yesterday by the Ceann Comhairle during the debate, while Mr Murphy called the idea ‘ridiculous’.

Irish Water said yesterday that refunds would begin as soon as the Bill is passed by the Seanad and signed by the President. It will start by issuing 30,000 refunds per day, five or six days a week, and look to increase on that number. A Department source said: ‘If somebody wants to hold it up in the Seanad like they did in the Dáil, that’s beyond our control. But we are ready to rock and roll with this.’

In a best-case scenario, if the legislation is passed next week, the Government will have five weeks to issue refunds before Christmas. If cheques are issued six days a week, there is the potential for 900,000 of the almost one million refunds that are due to be issued by then.

Yesterday, Mr Murphy also claimed that the abolition of water charges was not a ‘victory for the people’ despite the unprecedented mass protests that forced the Government into an embarrassing policy U-turn. He said: ‘I do not view this as a victory for the people. I view this as political parties and politicians trying to use this issue to score points for their own political gain against a Government that was trying to recover an economy.’

Meanwhile, Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy has said she will table legislation to give the Comptroller and Auditor General oversight of Irish Water.

An amendment to do so was rejected from the Water Services Bill on Wednesday night, with Mr Murphy saying that while he supported the principle, he believed it would require an amendment to the C&AG Act, which would be the most appropriate place to deal with the issue.

Ms Murphy said yesterday: ‘The C&AG has a very clear remit to monitor and audit the use of public funds with resulting public reports and disclosures to the Public Accounts Committee for example.

‘This gives citizens the opportunity to see how public funds are being used.

‘I am extremely disappointed that both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil refused to support my amendment last night, choosing instead to push it out to an indeterminate date in the future.’