80,000 could face bills for excess water use

UP to 80,000 households could be charged for excessive water usage, it has been claimed.

It is estimated that 75,000 to 80,000 properties have leaks which will result in fines when a penalty scheme is introduced in 2020.

The plan was labelled as a ‘backdoor’ for future water charges for all by Solidarity TD Paul Murphy yesterday.

Irish Water told the Irish Daily Mail it recently made a submission to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities on charges for those using in excess of 213,000 litres of water per year. A report sent by Irish Water to the Government last week estimated it would collect €7million in charges in the first year of the new regime and this would increase to €9million annually within five years. The company expects to raise €39million over the next five years from excessive usage charges, according to the Irish Water strategic funding plan, it was reported.

Mr Murphy said excessive water charges are a ‘backdoor for future charges’ and claimed they will not be implementable due to mass opposition.

He said: ‘This attempted re-introduction of charges is the fruit of Fianna Fáil’s betrayal of its election promise. Clearly, any excessive usage charges would only be the thin edge of the wedge in attempting to reintroduce water charges for all.’

The new charging system was agreed by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil as part of the first Confidence and Supply agreement.

Under the agreement, water charges were abolished but to ensure the country does not incur EU-imposed financial penalties, levies for excessive water were then introduced. The figures are based on an expectation that between 75,000 and 80,000 households will be paying the average capped domestic water rate of €260 a year.

Households coming in at 1.7 times the average – some 213,000 litres for a fourperson household and 79,900 litres for a single-occupant home – will be forced to pay.

An Irish Water spokeswoman said yesterday: ‘Irish Water will work with customers to fix leaks, through initiatives including our First Fix Free Scheme, to promote water conservation and avoid the necessity to apply charges.

‘Irish Water has estimated the revenue that could potentially be raised if those customers we engage with fail to fix leaks or fail to curb their excess usage.’