Like everyone else in this House, I have been out canvassing, knocking on doors, in my case in North Kildare. The issue on everybody’s lips is water charges. It is a lightning rod for this election and invariably other taxes and charges come up in the conversation as well.

Members of this House call for certainty on the household bills people will receive but I hear the last thing people want is the certainty that another bill will fall through their letter boxes, yet another bill heaped on top of the taxes and charges already imposed, property tax, carbon taxes, and the universal social charge, which features large.

They are asking what they will get for the taxes they have already paid.  When the idea of water charges was first mooted, we were told it was all about conservation and, to cite the Taoiseach, fixing the inadequate and inferior water supply.  Many accept that water meters have a function in conservation.  People do not want to see waste, but there is a big difference between paying to wash one's car a couple of times a month and paying to wash one's children or flush the toilet.  That is where the free allowance is vital. Irish Water is stating that if people are prudent and use less water, it will be forced to increase its prices because it wants to maintain its income at a certain level.  It is clear that the sole purpose of this initiative is to create a tax that will provide more income for the Government which can be pumped into the black hole of the national debt and, effectively, turn citizens into consumers. The conservation issue has largely been lost. A figure of €537 million has been suggested for the Government subvention.  This subvention is from the people's taxes.  The Government did not pluck the figure out of thin air.  Will the subvention be at or above this level in 2015 and 2016?  If it is not, we will face a situation where decreasing subventions mean ever increasing bills.  Will the funding for the standing charge be additional to the subvention of €537 million or will it be included in the total?  If it is included, it will simply transfer into the cost per litre of water.

It is welcome that Deputy Catherine Murphy agrees that metering water is the way to proceed.  It is a way of ensuring water is conserved and it provides a means by which people can reduce their water bills.  Many of the issues the Deputy raised are being considered by the Government.  In regard to families, I agree that there is a difference between using water to wash the car and using it to wash the children.  This should be reflected in the regime which is put in place.  We need certainty, in so far as we can have it, about the years ahead.  I have heard suggestions the water charges will be a certain amount this year and that they will be double or triple that amount next year or the following year.  Families should not be put in such a position.

That is the policy - full cost recovery.

No, that was Fianna Fáil's policy.

The Government has not guaranteed a subvention for more than two years.

Fianna Fáil in its programme for Government committed to full cost recovery.

Your policy was no water charges.

That is not what we are pursuing.

We need to pursue consistency around here.

The proposal for a standing charge is one we have to address.  The discussions we are having - this is well known - pertain to the free allowance, the question of a standing charge, the arrangements for metering and the arrangements that would give rise to differences for people who use water to wash their cars, as distinct from those who require water for their children or to meet medical needs.  I am confident that we will be able to arrive at a formula which is fair, reasonable, clear to the public and in respect of which the public can have certainty.

The Tánaiste's thinking appears to have shifted fundamentally.  Six months after the last local elections, he approached the matter from the citizen's perspective, but he is now approaching it from that of the utilities.  In October 2009 he stated the following about water charges: "One concern with this proposal is that we could be informed in six or 12 months time that the cost of metering is very high, that there are practical difficulties associated with the allowance and that the Government would go ahead with the introduction of a flat water charge."  It is now estimated that 75% will be subject to a flat charge.  Where has the concern the Tánaiste so clearly expressed in 2009 gone?  In 2010 the Taoiseach - I am quoting-----

Please do not quote; this is Question Time.

He stated: "The system of flat rate water charges is unfair, inequitable and not environmentally sound because one ends up with a situation whereby the poor pay the same as the rich. Fine Gael will oppose a flat rate water charge." I fail to see the reason for the delay in reaching a decision. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste are not fighting each other, if that is the perspective from which they come.

I ask the Deputy to put her question.

My question stems from something the Tánaiste said in 2009 and I am quoting again-----

The Deputy will not be quoting because she is over her time.

He asked the then Taoiseach: "Will the Taoiseach give the House an assurance that there will not be a flat water charge and that this will not be progressed until the metering is done, the allowances are set and a waiver system is put in place?"

Will the Deputy, please, put her question?

Why did the Tánaiste seek that assurance when he now appears to be doing exactly what he feared?  What has changed?

It is the kind of thing one does during an election.

I have not changed.  I do not agree with having a flat charge.

The Tánaiste did a U-turn.

The Deputy is worried about consistency.

At one time the Tánaiste did not agree with water charges.

I did not agree with having flat charges then and I do not agree with having them now.  I clearly stated we needed a system based on the availability of a free allowance.  Such a free allowance needs to be constructed in a way that takes account of the circumstances of different families.  Clearly, families have particular needs where there are children or medical issues and the allowance needs to reflect this.  Charging should be on a metered basis in order that it encourages the conservation of water and enables families and households to reduce water bills by conserving water.  Let us be clear: both then and now I did not and do not support having a flat charge.