THE Minister for the Environment is to meet representatives of the IFA, the ICMSA and the National Federation of Group Water Schemes tomorrow to listen to their complaints of discrimination against rural Ireland on water charges.
Mr Howlin agreed that there had been a political panic over the issue, but said his primary concern was to ensure that people living in both rural and urban areas had access to quality drinking water. "That's why I want the local authorities to take these schemes in charge."
The most recent report on water quality by the Environmental Protection Agency had shown that 43 per cent of privately run group water schemes were contaminated by faecal and other coliform bacteria, and many failed to meet EU drinking water standards.
Mr Howlin said the Government had given him "total support" after he briefed his Cabinet colleagues on the issue yesterday. He is to report back on measures to deal with the situation after his series of meetings tomorrow, which would be a "listening exercise".
Criticising Mr Bobby Molloy of the Progressive Democrats for his "disgraceful" intervention, which would amount to "signing a blank cheque" for group water schemes, he said: "I don't think we should be rushed or panicked into making decisions of this nature."
He insisted the focus should be on supplying quality drinking water to all households, whether in rural or urban areas. "Many of these schemes are simply not supplying quality water and that's something which is a very high priority for me."
Since he became Minister two years ago, he said this commitment had been indicated by more than doubling the capital grant for group water schemes from £700 to £1,600 a household and more than tripling the capital grant for group sewerage schemes, from £500 to £1,600.
Meanwhile, Mr Molloy, defending his party's analysis of the figures involved in group water schemes, said the data he quoted was supplied to his party by the Department of the Environment.
He said 150,000 households' were connected to these group water schemes. A total of 90,000 households were members of group schemes receiving supplies from a public main while the balance were members of groups that got their supply from a private source.
All 150,000 households, however, would have to pay annual maintenance charges and, up to yesterday, the Department still did not know the exact gross figures involved. The PDs have committed themselves to providing £23 million a year in maintenance capital for group water schemes.
According to Mr Molloy, any move by the Government to introduce equity between urban and rural households would also have to take into account the position of 130 000 other households who got their water supply from their own individual source.