EUROPEAN Commission sources and Government Ministers say they do not expect the European Union to force Ireland to introduce charges for domestic water supply, despite claims to the contrary by the Progressive Democrats.
The PD leader, Ms Mary Harney, claimed yesterday that the Government was abolishing water charges in the knowledge that it would be forced by an EU directive to introduce them by the year 2010. The party's Galway West TD, Mr Bobby Molloy, described this as "a fraud on the Irish people".
According to Ms Harney, the draft EU directive, on which agreement was proposed to be reached by the end of 1997, includes an article requiring EU member-states to charge for the use of water.
"The next Government will have to transpose this into Irish law," she said. "It is not possible to get an exemption."
Ms Harney said that the Government had not "levelled with the public" on this. The Tanaiste, Mr Spring, rejected her claim, saying it was "absolute nonsense".
The EU draft directive is still at a preliminary stage of negotiation according to Brussels sources and the Minister for the Environment, Mr Howlin, has informed his EU colleagues of Ireland's objections to the proposals for water charges.
"Other countries have water metering," said one informed Brussels source last night, "but it would be remarkable if they forced Ireland to accept their system." This is because Ireland's arrangements for funding its water supply have no implications either for the EU or for other member-states.
However, according to Ms Harney, Ireland faces being outvoted by 14 to one. "Irish consumers will have to pay for water and the Government knows that," she said.
The PD leader said that the Government would be given 10 years from 1999 to implement the directive. The draft directive allowed for "a basic level of water use for domestic purposes at an affordable price" and a higher rate to be charged for usage beyond this basic level. Every other European state recovered the full cost of water supply from users, she said.
Mr Howlin said last night that he had objected to Article 12 of the draft directive, which would oblige EU member-states to charge for water, at a meeting of EU environment ministers on March 3rd, six days after the publication of the directive.
He had told his colleagues that he "could not accept the charging proposals, which ran contrary to the Government decision to abolish charges for domestic use".
Since preparation of this proposal began, Irish officials had "availed of relevant opportunities to ... oppose charging domestic consumers for water ... Concerns on the charging issue were also raised by other member-states".
Mr Spring said: "We have made clear to our European partners that we are not countenancing bringing back service charges. There certainly won't be metering and there won't be charges for water."
Meanwhile, the Fianna Fail spokesman on the environment, Mr Noel Dempsey, said the fact that the Government knew what was being proposed at EU level, but had remained silent, meant that "all were guilty of the same deception".