Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar and Minister for Transport Shane Ross have disagreed over whether households that paid water charges should be refunded.

Mr Varadkar said those who have paid water charges should not end up worse off than those who have not but his own view is that they should not be refunded. However, Mr Ross said there is a strong argument for refunds.

“The €140 million that was paid went to Irish Water and went into our water network and that’s where we need more investment, not less,” Mr Varadkar told reporters at the launch of the Institute of Public Administration’s 2017 directory.

“ For those who didn’t pay, it’s an unpaid bill and an outstanding debt just like an unpaid ESB bill or an unpaid management charge,” he added, saying that “one way or another” the debts will be paid.

Earlier this week the commission on water charges said an allowance for domestic water use should be calculated on the basis of the number of people living in the home. Under its proposals, the commission said the “vast majority” of people would no longer have to pay water charges.

Asked about the commission’s report on Thursday, Mr Ross said he believed householders who have paid their water charges should be refunded.

“I think that there’s a very good case for refunding them. If people are going to be let off, I think there’s a very good case for refunding those who have already paid them, yes I do.” Asked whether he was personally in favour of refunding bill payers, he said “Yes”.

When asked whether he believed households who have not paid water charges will do so, or be made to do so, he responded: “I think that that’s probably something which is unlikely to happen.”

The final report of the Expert Commission on Domestic Public Water Services, which was established in June by then minister for the environment Simon Coveney, was published on Tuesday and will now be considered by a special Oireachtas committee.

Mr Ross said the report was a political compromise. “I don’t think it’s a victory for the hard left... I don’t know what’s going to emerge from the committee at the end but it looks to me as if there is going to be a sensible compromise which most politicians could live with.”