I call Deputy Adams.

Would Deputies please settle down? If they keep shouting nobody can hear a word they are saying, so please allow speakers to speak. I call Deputy Adams, please.

Would you stay quiet for God's sake? Give us a break.

When I raised the issue of water charges with the Taoiseach yesterday, he said the Government had not taken a decision, various matters have to be taken into consideration, and there is a need to assess a whole range of issues before any decision can be taken. He then pulled together an unscheduled Cabinet meeting and sent his spin doctors off to the media to give details of a decision that he told the Dáil yesterday he had not taken. This is the latest in a whole series of decisions in which the Government has by-passed the Dáil in favour of governing by press release and media spin. On each occasion, the Taoiseach shows contempt for the Oireachtas, the Opposition and for his own backbenchers, especially Labour Party backbenchers, but most of all for citizens who will be affected by his decisions. The fact that the Taoiseach called a special Cabinet meeting to deal with these issues is down to the way he is playing catch-up. One debacle follows another and it is clear that the Taoiseach is trying to kick for touch on this issue. He is governing by making it up as he goes along.

And Sinn Féin does not.

It is very clear that there will indeed be a standing charge as part of the water charges. The Taoiseach promised that citizens would know the cost of domestic water before the elections, but they will not know this until they get their bills after the elections. Does the Taoiseach agree that this water charge is a flat, aggressive tax which will impact most negatively on working families?

We got it abolished in the 1990s and we will do it again.

Would Deputy Higgins mind keeping quiet for a moment, as we want to hear the Taoiseach?

I agree with Deputy Adams that the imposition of any new charge is always difficult for people. We recognise that, but I also recognise that 18,000 people have to boil drinking water every day. I recognise that this city is struggling to meet its daily capacity requirements.

That is your fault.

I recognise that there are 20 treatment plants around the country that are completely inadequate. I recognise that the infrastructure in so many places is grossly inferior to what it should be, so people have to deal with inferior, infrequent and poor supplies. The only way that can be dealt with is by having an entity that is entitled to borrow money to provide that infrastructure, construction jobs and facilities for business and domestic consumers alike. Some 40% of our water leaks away into the ground. This city has never dealt with this problem. The imposition of any new charge is always difficult for people.

When I told Deputy Adams that the Government has not decided on all these measures, that is because the Government is required to discuss and decide the details of how we can make this affordable, equitable and as fair as possible. That is why it is only right that one takes into account whether houses include children, vulnerable individuals or people with particular medical circumstances that require more water usage than most. We must look at the scale of how assessments are to be carried out, taking into account the explanation of the rules by the CSO in the context of whether EUROSTAT means one can only give a maximum subvention level of €537 million for 2015 and 2016. That means that the Government cannot put any more finance into Irish Water without putting it back on the Government books.

That would mean having to deal with a €700 million requirement later in the year.

The Government is deciding on this and the details will be known before the local elections. The average metered charge as currently indicated by the information from the CSO is for €60 per quarter. That is the bill that will come to people in the first days of January 2015. Both parties in Government have every right to discuss the details of all of these issues and will do so in the next two weeks. A final decision on the proposition will be brought forward by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. It is very important for the future of the country.

When Deputy Martin was shouting from his bench, he did not share with Deputy Adams, who puts up with water charges in the North of Ireland without any problem, the information that he himself intended to introduce a €400 charge last year.

That is not true.

I appeal to the Taoiseach to, for once, bring proposals to the Oireachtas for discussion and consultation with Members of the Dáil and Seanad. The Government's water charge, borrowed from Fianna Fáil and opposed previously by the Labour Party, is another tax on top of all the other taxes and stealth charges faced by struggling families who have already been hit. The Taoiseach must know that taking this money out of people's pockets means less money going into local economies, which drives down economic activity. As well as being unfair and unjust, the charges make no economic sense.

Charges never reduce. It is inevitable that this charge will increase and that this is the first step in an escalating water charge. I pointed out to the Taoiseach yesterday that it makes no sense at all in terms of water conservation. It is clear that the real intent is to privatise water services in the State.

For the Taoiseach's information, there are no domestic water charges in the North. The Taoiseach should know that.

This is questions. The Deputy is over time.

If the Taoiseach listens, he might learn something. He should know there are no charges because the Department for Regional Development in the North had meetings as far back as January 2012 with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

We are not discussing Northern Ireland.

DRD officials apprised Deputy Hogan's Department of the system in the North. The Taoiseach has a choice. In the North, Sinn Féin stopped water charges and the privatisation of water services. The Taoiseach could do the same in the State. Why does he not?

The average household charge in Northern Ireland, including water, is €980.

Would Members calm down?

It is the fault of the Brits.

Sinn Féin did not put a stop to that. They welcomed it with open arms. The taxpayer here pays €1.2 billion for water systems through 34 different local authorities. The system is not consistent or up to standard and it will never be up to standard until sufficient money is available to invest in infrastructure. The Government is unable through the Minister for Finance and the taxation system to meet the requirement here. We have been spending an average of €300 million per year when it should be €600 million or more to meet the requirements nationally for water and waste water treatment plants and the relevant infrastructure. I can point to areas in the far west where local schemes upgraded their systems, installed meters and constructed proper water treatments plants and saved 500 million litres of water in the first year. If the Deputy talks to those people they will show him the advantage of this approach.

While it is difficult where people have a new imposition placed on them, this is necessary to provide for the future. Both parties in Government are united in the view that we need a fair, affordable system. That is why the Government is considering the categories of vulnerable people, including those who live on their own, those with children and those who have medical requirements for exceptional water use on a daily basis. The rate of installation of meters is running at an average of 27,000 per month. To date, 185,000 meters have been installed and 400,000 are to be installed by the end of the year. We must discuss the way in which assessments will be carried out where houses are not metered as against where they are. There are answers to all of these questions. Over the next two weeks, the Government will continue to discuss the issues presented by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, taking into account the figures presented in the explanation of the rules by the CSO.

The Government will make its decision in good time. We have not signed off on the Minister's proposition for the very good reason that we want to get this as right as possible.