Taoiseach acknowledges Irish Water mistakes

The Taoiseach said he hoped “clarity and confidence” will be brought to the water charges debacle as soon as possible while acknowledging that ‘things were not done in all cases the way they should have been done.’

Enda Kenny was speaking on his way into Cabinet this morning.

He confirmed the Government will make a fresh statement on water charges next week, saying it was issue that affected every household in the country.

“It’s a case of having listened very carefully to people, having acknowledged that things were not done in all cases the way they should’ve been done,” he said.

“The Government will obviously make its decision [AND MAKE]a statement next week on this.”

He declined to say whether or not the Coalition would involve Revenue in the process.

Pressure is mounting on the Government after over 100,000 people protested over the charges over the weekend.

Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly yesterday indicated that he expected changes to the water charges regime in the next week or so.

“Principal amongst that is addressing the issue of water charges and how the charging system is going to work. They are going to be changed. I think they are going to reflect the concerns of the people,” he said.

“I think the charges are going to be modest and there also is a requirement for certainty over a long period of time.”

Speaking to reporters at Irish Water headquarters in Dublin, Mr Kelly said “a lot of mistakes” had been made in relation to the establishment of the utility.

The idea that the largest utility to be created in the history of the State could be set up in a couple of years was wrong, he said.

Mr Kelly also said it was "inappropriate" that legislation to set up the utility had been "rushed" through the Oireachtas last year.

Asked about the possibility of a referendum to ensure Irish Water stays in public ownership, as proposed by the Green Party, Mr Kelly did not rule it out but he said there may be another mechanism to address this issue through the Oireachtas.

Irish Water managing director John Tierney said he wanted to apologise "to our customers for mistakes that have been made".

Fianna Fáil leader Micháel Martin called for a suspension of the charges in order to review them and to develop a fair and equitable system. He has criticised the Government for 'ramming' the legislation through establishing the utility without adequate debate or engagement.