Athy Chamber

Water Shortages underscore need for user charges now

Businesses affected by supply cuts should be compensated

Chambers Ireland has today (30/12/10) said that the water curtailments being experienced around the country underscore the need for greater urgency on moves to introduce domestic water charges to fund ongoing investments in water supply and encourage all consumers to conserve water.

Seán Murphy, Chambers Ireland Deputy Chief Executive said, “One of the major reasons why we are once again experiencing water shortages this year is years of underinvestment in the water treatment and water supply infrastructure, coupled with a lack of appreciation on the part of many non-commercial users as to the importance of this resource. While significant water infrastructure investment programmes are underway at present, their impact will be significantly enhanced by a rapid move towards the introduction of user charges on a sliding scale based on consumption. This would give water providers a much more predictable source of income to fund future infrastructure investments and all water consumers would become much more mindful of water usage patterns."

“Finally, those businesses that have been directly affected by water cuts should be reimbursed by local authorities for the loss of this service,” Murphy concluded.