Irish Water needs 50% compliance to be deemed independent

Irish Water needs a compliance rate of just over 50 per cent to make the figures "stack up", Minister for State Kathleen Lynch has said.

Referring to a test set by the European Commission’s Eurostat group, which will determine whether the utility is a state-owned company or independent from the Government, Ms Lynch said a compliance rate of just over 50 per cent was required.

The test is important for Ireland because if Irish Water passes, the money the State is paying the company to support its operations will not count towards calculations of the annual budget deficit.

Bills paid

Last week, the utility announced 46 per cent of households had paid their water charge bills, issued for the first three months of the year, and €30.5 million of the €66.8 million due was received.

Speaking on RTÉ's The Week in Politics, Ms Lynch said more than 1.35 million households had registered for Irish Water, which represented 75 per cent of those liable.

“I don’t believe those people registered just for the sake of registering. I believe they will eventually pay. It’s a slow burner.”

Separately, Deputy Barry Cowen (FF) has accused the Government of refusing to reveal the true cost of the utility.

As part of a written response to a parliamentary question posed to Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly, Mr Cowen was told the Government had given consent for Irish Water to borrow €550 million this year from commercial banks. But the minister did not reveal the interest rate on the borrowings.

“The rate on these facilities is commercially sensitive as Irish Water is currently in negotiations in respect of further debt facilities,” the minister said.

He also said the loans were in addition to existing borrowings of €300 million from the National Pension Reserve Fund at a rate of 2.5 per cent.

Mr Cowen said the figures showed the “super quango” was heading toward a €1 billion debt and “the real cost to the taxpayer is still being hidden”.

“The Government’s need to hide the true cost of Irish Water’s loans is further evidence of the fact that this super quango is a colossal failure.”

He also said the minister’s refusal to disclose the interest rates was worrying. “It’s difficult to escape the conclusion that Irish Water is paying above the odds and costing the taxpayer even more than we know.”