Brian Stanley: Calls to rule out domestic water charges permanently
Brian Stanley spoke on 8 April 2025 about domestic water charges and the structure and funding of Irish Water. He opposed introducing domestic water charges, urged water services remain publicly owned, and called for funds to be spent on pipe and sewer upgrades through local authorities rather than on metering and the charging system.
He told the minister that words are one thing and actions another and demanded domestic water charges be ruled out once and for all. He said he campaigned against the charges and would do so again and urged that water be kept in public ownership and the right to water be enshrined in the constitution.
He challenged the claim that charges conserve water, saying there is no evidence charges reduce usage and that upgraded pipework is what conserves water. He noted an excessive allowance currently exists, referring to an excess figure of 1.7 times the average use, and said people generally are conserving water.
He described the real waste as the cost of the charging system and the expense of installing domestic meters rather than using neighbourhood metres. He recalled engineers had warned him about the waste and said millions were spent making Irish Water into a "cash cow," a move he portrayed as preparation for potential privatisation. He also recalled raising these concerns with Phil Hogan at the time.
He criticised the establishment and running costs of Irish Water and asked listeners to imagine the billions spent over the last decade being given to local authorities to fix pipework and sewage treatment plants. He cited a parliamentary reply saying an extra billion from the sale of AIB shares is going to Irish Water - one billion of three billion - and argued that money should instead go to local authorities.
He pressed the minister on pre-election promises including the triple lock and HRT treatment commitments and asked whether the government could be trusted on water charging. He appealed for the government to redeem itself by ruling out water charges for good and putting the issue to bed once and for all.
Primary demand
He told the minister that words are one thing and actions another and demanded domestic water charges be ruled out once and for all. He said he campaigned against the charges and would do so again and urged that water be kept in public ownership and the right to water be enshrined in the constitution.
Metering and conservation
He challenged the claim that charges conserve water, saying there is no evidence charges reduce usage and that upgraded pipework is what conserves water. He noted an excessive allowance currently exists, referring to an excess figure of 1.7 times the average use, and said people generally are conserving water.
Cost and waste of the charging system
He described the real waste as the cost of the charging system and the expense of installing domestic meters rather than using neighbourhood metres. He recalled engineers had warned him about the waste and said millions were spent making Irish Water into a "cash cow," a move he portrayed as preparation for potential privatisation. He also recalled raising these concerns with Phil Hogan at the time.
Funding and local authorities
He criticised the establishment and running costs of Irish Water and asked listeners to imagine the billions spent over the last decade being given to local authorities to fix pipework and sewage treatment plants. He cited a parliamentary reply saying an extra billion from the sale of AIB shares is going to Irish Water - one billion of three billion - and argued that money should instead go to local authorities.
Appeal to the minister and government credibility
He pressed the minister on pre-election promises including the triple lock and HRT treatment commitments and asked whether the government could be trusted on water charging. He appealed for the government to redeem itself by ruling out water charges for good and putting the issue to bed once and for all.
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Transcript
Minister, I heard your words in relation to this bill, but words are one thing, but actions are another. There is an opportunity here to nail this once and for all, that domestic water charges will not be introduced. I campaigned against them, and will do so again against domestic water charges. There was huge opposition to them in all counties. County Leash, communities rallied all over the county, and we defeated them. This thing of that water charges will help to conserve water and maximum usage, there is no evidence of that. Upgraded pipework, that is what does it. We also need to keep water services in public ownership. Your party, as I remember, in 2010 proposed setting up a utility, Irish Water, and that was followed on by Fine Gael and Labour and in government. So, what I would say to you is there is an excessive allowance there at the moment. There is an excess over that, 1.7 times what is the average use. What I would say to you is that I find people generally are conserving water. Minister, the promises before the election on the triple lock, a lot of people took your word on that. The HRT treatment, people took your word on that. I hear your commitments in relation to water charges before the election. What will happen to that? Can we trust you on that? I have to say that to you. The real waste is the cost of the charging system, the waste of domestic water on houses instead of neighbourhood metres. This was pointed out on the floor of the stall. I remember pointing out to Phil Hogan at the time, because that is what engineers were telling me at the time and still tell me. There was millions wasted on that installing metres to turn Irish water into a cash cow. That is what it was about in the hope that sometime in the future it could be hived off to the private sector and privatised. The real waste has been on establishing and running Irish water. Now you picture this for a moment. Count up the billions that went into Irish water over the last 10 years and picture this that if those billions had to be given to the local authorities to fix the piping system and the sewerage treatment plants in this country, we would be a long ways on. There is a PQ reply that I got in the last couple of weeks and it said that there is an extra billion going to them from the AIB shares, the sale of those. The three billion got from that, one billion is going to Irish water. More money for Irish water. It should be going to the local authorities. The problem is the establishment of Irish water. That is what was wrong in the first place. We need to keep water in public ownership, enshrine it in the constitution and the right to water and rule out water charges for good. I would appeal to you to do that. You still have a chance to do it and redeem the government and we put this issue to bed once and for all.