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Environment Minister John Gormley has said he
will being proposals to Cabinet in a number of weeks to install
water meters in 1.1 million homes and begin charging for the
resource.
The water meter proposal was announced in the
December budget and Mr Gormley has expressed confidence that
the installation of meters would begin next year.
Following the phased installation of the meters,
households connected to public mains will be charged for water
based on usage.
"The metering system will allow for much better
network management by local authorities and it should also
help consumers adjust their consumption patterns," he said.
The minister said the meters would persuade
people to use less water, citing a British report as evidence
of this. "A recent report for the UK government found average
savings of 16% per household accrued from the installation
of meters."
However, the prospect of charges may cause anger
among householders following the recent weather crisis which
saw significant disruption to water provision in several areas
nationwide. Infrastructural problems, such as leaks in pipes,
was one of the factors in supplies being hit.
Mr Gormley has conceded that the difficulties
experienced by thousands of householders "show clearly that
there are still huge issues with our water infrastructure".
He has announced that €300m would be spent
over the next three years to replace water mains as part of
a revised water investment programme. Revision of the programme
comes on foot of a review ordered by Mr Gormley last year
to address the issue of unaccounted-for water.
Mr Gormley said the €300m would represent "a
significant ramping-up" of investment in this area, as just
€140m had been spent on water conservation over the past seven
years.
The introduction of household meters will form
part of the Government’s approach to water conservation.
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