Government poised to water down charge to ‘flat fee’

A Galway backbencher has signalled a Government climb-down on water charges  – saying that charging on the basis of usage could be shelved for several years.

Galway West TD, Brian Walsh, has indicated that Government will instead ask homeowners to pay a ‘flat-fee’ for water, at a ‘reasonable rate’, for two to three years.

The Fine Gael TD said that Cabinet is about to ‘sign-off’ on the flat-fee water charge as Government attempts to assuage voters angry with the imposition of another stealth tax.

Deputy Walsh said the current situation whereby half of Galway City is metered and half the city is not metered it is not fair and won’t be tolerated.

He said people are angry – and justifiably so – and the Government must listen to their concerns and respond or else they face a hammering at the next General Election.

“From speaking with ministers, the sense I am getting is that a flat-rate, for two to three years, will be introduced. I have called for this, and I would be very surprised if it is not announced in the coming weeks.

“I expect an announcement soon about a flat-fee. There are some people who don’t want to pay anything, and that’s not sustainable but there is a large cohort of people who accept the principal that you have to pay something for water. But those people who accept the principal are looking for clarity, and they want leaks fixed and meters installed and some fairness,” he said.

Deputy Walsh described the handling of the issue by Irish Water as “chaotic and inept”, and insisted the move towards metered charges will have to be stalled in order to avoid inequity and inefficiency.

Read more in this week’s Galway City Tribune