Water Meters Expenditure

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 March 2013

Thursday, 7 March 2013

Questions (156)

Robert Dowds

Question:

156. Deputy Robert Dowds asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will be making regulations, or if there will be any specifications regarding the pricing structure for the installation for water meters; if there will be any maximum amount which can be spent on various aspects of the installation, such as digging up a footpath, when taking into consideration that different houses will require different amounts of digging to install water meters. [12056/13]

Written answers

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government

I refer to the reply to Question No. 219 of 27 February 2013, which sets out the position in relation to the procurement process for the water metering programme. I have previously indicated that there will be a proportion of households which will not be metered in the initial metering programme due to either the high cost or the technical difficulty of doing so. For those properties that will be encompassed by the metering programme, the works involved will not be extensive and will only require excavation and installation of a boundary box. The procurement process is governed by a legal framework of European and national legislation and it would not be appropriate to introduce specific regulations concerning the installation of the water meters. As the procurement process is currently underway it would be inappropriate for me to comment further.