The introduction of water charges in 2014 will prove a “considerable task” for the Government, according to a European Commission report.
The new State-owned company, Irish Water, is due to be established in the third quarter of this year. A metering survey is due to begin soon, followed by the installation of meters beginning in the third quarter of 2013.
A water pricing framework and billing model will be developed over the course of next year with charging expected to begin at the start of 2014. The strategy supplied by the Department of the Environment was described as “ambitious” in the draft commission staff report, which was compiled following the recent seventh review of the EU-IMF programme.
The Campaign Against Household and Water Taxes likened the implementation of a water tax to a “declaration of war [which] will be met with resistance in every community”.