This is the final draft report of the Oireachtas Committee on Funding Water Charges in Ireland. It will go before the Committee on Wednesday April 6 2017.
See Section 7 Metering
It looks like we have all been media managed. If that is not 'metering through the back door' we don't know what is.
by Niamh Lyons, The Times, April 5 2017
The government had attempted to introduce charges for excessive usage
The fate of water charges hangs in the balance after a day of chaos in Leinster House and a series of squabbles among Dáil parties.
Fine Gael abandoned a meeting of the joint Oireachtas committee on the future of water charges after losing a series of votes.
The key amendment lost by the party was its addition of the word “normal” in relation to domestic water usage being charged through general taxation in the future.
The defeat of this amendment means the taxpayer faces picking up the tab for all water usage, including water wasted by householders, if the draft agreement is endorsed in the Dáil
In total, 13 of the 20-member committee voted against Fine Gael’s attempt to implement an excessive usage charge. A further showdown is expected today as the committee reconvenes.
Fine Gael blamed Fianna Fáil for changing its position, having agreed in principle last week that an excess charge would be included. Sinn Féin accused Fine Gael of attempting to bring in water charges “by the back door”. The Labour Party then said it may not support the final report.
Martin Heydon, Fine Gael’s chairman and a member of the water committee, said the country would face fines of “hundreds of millions” of euro unless people were charged for unnecessary waste.
“Fine Gael wants to agree a report that resolves the problem of how we fund domestic water services in Ireland and is honest with the Irish people,” he said.
“We want a report that is a true reflection of the progress that was made by the committee last week.”
The committee had already agreed in principle that domestic water be paid through general taxation and that the Commissioner for Energy Regulation would be charged with coming up with an allowance for individuals that was 1.7 times over the general usage of 123 litres per day.
Simon Coveney, the housing minister, has insisted that unless people were charged for their usage above that level, the state would be in contravention of the EU water framework directive and fines would be imposed.
Mr Heydon said the committee’s stand-off now centred on this issue and that if put to a vote in the Dáil the party could not support it or legislate to implement its findings.
“We won’t be supporting anything that is not legally compliant.
“Irish taxpayers cannot be unnecessarily levied with a fine from the European Union. That fine could amount to hundreds of millions of euro; we have no intention of walking ourselves into that scenario. It is not possible for this government to legislate for an illegal act. We are working towards resolution. We want to go back to the position we were at last week and hope we can resolve the matter.”
The government’s survival relies on the confidence and supply agreement with Fianna Fáil which states that legislation must be passed once the committee’s report is sent through the Dáil.
Another sticking point for Fine Gael revolves around the penalties that would be imposed for wasting water, which it claims could lead to householders being dragged through the courts.
“We don’t want to criminalise people for excessive use of water. We want people who use more water than the allowance to make a contribution. Language is important here, if we are going to have a charge for excessive usage that has to be in the report,” Mr Heydon said.
Barry Cowen, Fianna Fáil’s water spokesman and committee member, said his party was not in favour of charging per litre of water used above the capped allowance.
“We believe there should be a fine or levy for those wasting water, the detail of what that is should be agreed in future legislation.
“This is a bad day for Fine Gael. I expect and hope that it reflects on its position and comes back into the committee and moves onto the next section of the report with a view to reaching agreement,” he said.
The committee is running out of time before the March 13 deadline for its report to go through the Dáil. It was initially seeking to have the full report agreed by today.
Eoin Ó Broin, Sinn Féin’s water spokesman, said he expected Fine Gael to attempt to take yesterday’s key vote again but said that his party would resist.
“The report as it currently stands calls for domestic water services to be funded through existing general taxation and all talk of a separate charge for excessive use, normal and abnormal use, or the state being a customer of Irish Water, has been defeated.
“We’ll go back into committee today, we’ll look at meters, we’ll look at the issue of wilful wastage and we’re hopeful that the report can be concluded this week.”
Paul Murphy, a Solidarity TD, said yesterday’s meeting represented good progress from the point of view of the anti-water charges movement.
“A series of amendments were won in contested votes which saw Fine Gael TDs in a minority.
“Judging from the attitude of the Fine Gael TDs, they will be disappointed about the direction the report is currently headed. The question should now be put to Simon Coveney as to whether he will accept the outcome of the report and bring forward legislation to implement it if Fine Gael don’t get what they want,” Mr Murphy said.
A spokesman for Mr Coveney did not respond to this question last night.
FINE Gael and Fianna Fail have made a secret pact to install over 300,000 extra water meters in apartment blocks across the country.
The Irish Water Committee will meet next week for a final time to sign off on a report on the future of water charges.
Though the committee is not expected to emerge with a united report, sources expect a majority write-up will be agreed between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael to get them both “off the hook”.
As part of the deal over 300,000 extra water meters will be installed in apartments across Ireland.
This will avoid the sort of confrontations encountered with picketers during the placing of 900,000 individual devices outside houses over the past few years.
Apartments have so far been avoided because they pose the most technical problems in installation.
A source close to the deal said: ‘‘There will only be bulk metering of apartments, that will generate 300,000 extra meters.
“If that occurs, Ireland will have more meters per head of population than the UK.
“If that doesn’t keep Europe happy we don’t know what will.”
The agreement is part of a two-legged strategy aimed at placating EU demands for the imposition of water charges agreed under our bailout deal.
More than 300,000 meters will be installed
Both parties hope the proposed ‘three baths’ fining scheme — where households which exceed that level of water usage will be fined — will act as a de facto water charge scheme.
However, it remains to be seen whether EU chiefs would accept such a move, which would see only around 70,000 homes across Ireland having to stump up.
A source explained: ‘‘We have no choice in this, something has to be done to ensure we keep Europe happy by, at least appearing to be applying a ‘polluter pays’ principle.
“It will be up to the regulator to see how charges will be imposed, it will have nothing to do with us, standard water charges are off the table.”
Both parties have agreed on the secret pact to install the extra meters
The committee will have a final meeting on water charges next week and present their findings to the Dail a week later.
Though the cross-party committee will split on the issue one senior government figure noted with relief “the agreement between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael has taken water off the list of possible election causes”.
The figure added: “Nobody wants an election over water, Sinn Fein will oppose the deal, but they will be fairly half-hearted.
“They know water only benefits Paul Murphy and that lot.
Barry Cowen hit out at the ‘unhelpful speculation’
“The main thing anyway is that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have got ourselves off the water charges hook, it is no longer a live grenade, instead it is a Sinn Fein-Solidarity dud.”
Committee member and Fianna Fail spokesman on Housing, Planning and Local Government, Barry Cowen criticised “unhelpful speculation” about the number of apartments that will have individual water meters installed.
He claimed the Oireachtas Water Committee is still discussing whether apartments can be “block metered” to assist with conservation.
Mr Cowen said: “There is a clear acceptance, from all members of all political colours on the committee, that the era of state-sponsored individual water metering is over.
“The bottom line is that the current water charging regime is now defunct.
“Fianna Fail believes that penalties, under the 2007 Water Act with amendments, will ensure compliance with the EU’s Water Directive.”
Senator Paudie Coffey
Fine Gael committee member Senator Paudie Coffey said: “I welcome the fact that the committee looks like agreeing to the retention and use of all existing meters, the installation of meters in all new builds and bulk metering to measure consumption in apartment blocks.
“This will amount to metering of water for domestic use of in excess of approximately 80 per cent. ‘By implementing a levy or charge for excessive use over a certain threshold we are confident that water conservation will improve and we will be in compliance with the polluter pays principle of the EU.”
Labour’s Alan Kelly warned against any arrangement between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail.
He said: “What is being proposed is illegal and will cost taxpayers dearly in fines.
“It does not meet European law requirements and will end with massive fines that working men and women will have to pay through their income taxes.”
Mr Kelly said that the public “are being deceived for political convenience”.
He also warned Fine Gael leadership candidate Simon Coveney “this deal will come back to haunt you”.
He said: “Future generations will regret a solution that won’t raise the funding required to deal with water and waste problems across the country.”
The committee has 20 members; six Fine Gael, five Fianna Fail and two Sinn Fein.
The Solidarity- People Before Profit are represented by Dublin South-West TD Paul Murphy.
Of the three independent members Thomas Pringle and Seamus Healy oppose charges while Noel Grealish is supportive.
Source: The Irish Sun, April 3, 2017