The introduction of water charges for excessive use by households is not being considered by Minister for Housing James Browne “at this time”, his department has said.
A briefing document prepared by department officials for Mr Browne on his appointment noted finalising the long-delayed draft Household Water Conservation Charge regulations among “high-level priorities”.
On Tuesday, The Irish Independent reported that charges for excessive use could be introduced this year.
Some Opposition TDs claimed that bringing in charges for excessive use would be a step towards water charges being brought in across the board.
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Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin said his party is “opposed to the introduction of domestic water charges by the back door”.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said any excessive usage penalty “would function as a Trojan horse for the full reintroduction of charges”.
In a statement, the department sought to play down the prospect of any imminent introduction of charges for excessive water use.
It said that while Mr Browne “is aware that work began under the previous government on draft regulations for excessive water use charges, this was undertaken as part of the commitment under the previous programme for government”.
“This previous work was reflected in the Ministerial Briefing (recently published) he received upon taking office,” it said.
“The Minister is not giving consideration at this time to bringing in such charges.
“No proposal has been brought to the Minister in this regard and charges do not form part of the current programme for government.”
The department said Mr Browne is “focused on implementing the programme for government and in particular he is focused on increasing the delivery of more homes which is his highest priority”.
The introduction of water charges was met by large public protests in 2014 and a campaign of refusal to pay bills issued by Irish Water – since renamed as Uisce Éireann.
Following sustained opposition, the charges were suspended by the Fine Gael minority government in 2016, as part of a confidence and supply agreement with Fianna Fáil.
A subsequent all-party Oireachtas committee agreed that the charges should be scrapped, but households using an amount above a certain level should face some charges.
Mr Browne’s officials briefed him on plans to finalise the draft Household Water Conservation Charge regulations on the additional allowance and medical need allowance for his signature.
The document also set out plans to establish a working group on water conservation as set out in the Water Services Policy Statement 2024-2030.
The plans for a charge for excess water use data from 2017 and include a household water allowance of 213,000 litres a year, which is 1.7 times the average amount of water used by a household per year.
Above that level, legislation provided for charges for excessive use of water, which were capped at €250 per year for water and a further €250 a year for waste water.
However, the implementation of the legislation has not happened over the last eight years.
