15,000 Cavan houses to get water meters

An estimated 15,000 house holders in County Cavan are bracing themselves for the introduction of water meters from early 2012 but they will have to pay a flat-rate charge until 2014 when it's hoped all the meters will be in place. It is expected that the flat rate will be €175 per house, regardless of household income, and will equate to around €245m a year for the whole country. Once the meters are all in place, customers' bills will be calculated by means of a metered charge based on the volume of water used. A free allowance will apply and the new charges will only apply to those on public water systems and not those on group water schemes or those with their own private supply such as a well. Speaking to The Anglo-Celt this week, Brian Murphy from the Carrickfern Residents Association in Cavan said he is not be opposed to the new charges in principle. "So long as they were fairly implemented I would not be against them," he said. What he would be looking for was a good free daily or weekly allowance. Mr. Murphy appreciated that there were a huge amount of leaks all over the country and the harsh weather conditions last November, December and January didn't help matters. He hoped there would also be a waiver system in place for those who could not afford the new charges. "The elderly who were just on a pension or those on low income should be exempt," he added. "Water is a precious commodity and should not be wasted. These new charges should stop those who leave taps running, water gardens or just squander it," he said. A spokesman for the Department of the Environment told The Anglo-Celt: "The water charges have to be in place before the end of 2013 to comply with the IMF bailout conditions." However, he added that it will take at least four years to install meters at a cost of around €500m. It's not yet clear if low-income households will get a waiver and the charges will not be decided on for at least three years, the spokesman added. Continuing the spokesman said no decision had been made as to what the free domestic allowance would be but one was expected by the end of the year. He outlined that the money collected would be "ring-fenced" for local government services, such as fire fighting, libraries and other amenities. Ireland is one of a few countries in Europe that does not have domestic water charges. The cost of providing clean drinking water is estimated to cost €1bn annually, he said. According to the spokesman there was still a good deal of work to be done on the scheme but they are confident everything would be in place by the end of the year for a 2012 roll out. He could not say if the job of installing the new meters would go to an Irish company as under EU regulations when the cost of the job was over a certain amount it had to go to a European tender.