A RESOLUTION of the group water scheme dispute would cost the Exchequer £15 million annually, representatives of the group water schemes have told the Minister for the Environment, Mr Howlin.
Following a meeting with the Minister yesterday, the chairman of the National Federation of Group Water Schemes, Mr Bernard Keeley, warned that this sum would only cover daily maintenance.
Further money may be required to provide free domestic water to members of some schemes where the supply came from a local authority source.
"We put an offer on the table. We said it would require £14.85 million this calendar year to look at the maintenance costs for providing water in these schemes. That's just confining it to the daily running expenses of providing water to those households," Mr Keeley said.
This sum was made up of a subsidy of £160 per member of a totally private scheme and £80 per member of a part private scheme, to be paid by the Exchequer in each calendar year to the trustees of the schemes, he said.
A spokesman for the Minister last night said Mr Howlin would report back to Government "in due course" and that all parties involved recognised that the issues were "highly complex and required careful study".
The federation leaders said they had deliberately asked the Minister to ensure that the local authorities would not have any role in funding because the relationship between them and the group water schemes was "not a positive one".
Mr Howlin said the results of yesterday's discussions "remained to be seen" as the issues were not resolved during the meeting.
The delegation had asked the Minister to ensure equality so that people on private or part private water schemes be entitled to free domestic supplies.
"The Minister stated that it was his preference that schemes would not retain private ownership and that they would come in and, to quote himself, `be institutionalised'. However, the delegation insisted that the principle of private ownership must be adhered to - that must happen."
Farm leaders have also urged Mr Howlin to remove the present "discriminatory" policies. The IFA president, Mr John Donnelly and his ICMSA counterpart, Mr Frank Allen, met the Minister in his Department and called on him to quickly bring water charges in rural Ireland into line with those in urban areas.
Mr Donnelly told Mr Howlin the practical and legal implications of handing over private schemes to local authorities had not been thought through. It was a policy that ran counter to the principle of partnership and rural development which underpinned the water scheme movement.
The federation representatives last night also met the Fianna Fail leader Mr Bertie Ahern. Earlier, they held discussions with the leader of the Progressive Democrats, Ms Mary Harney, who said the Government had announced the abolition of water charges "to save a few Labour Party seats in Dublin".