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4th May 2011
08:25am BST
Deputy Niall Collins believes householders should have the option of installing their own water meters instead of paying €800 for the government to do it.
It looks like it’s going to cost you €800 if the government has to come to your gaff to install the much talked about water meter. However, Deputy Niall Collins from Limerick says that installing the meter yourself, or having a trained professional to fit it, could be done for less than half of the “exorbitant” charges the government is planning.
Currently it looks as though you’re going to have to fork out €40 a year for the next 20 years. However, this doesn’t seem like the best option according to Deputy Collins who believes such costs represent a bad deal for the people.
According to the Limerick Leader, companies which supply and fit water meters have come out in the media quoting prices of as little as €300 to do the job.
Deputy Collins said, “I am asking Minister Hogan to clarify urgently if households will be given the choice to have standard, approved meters fitted themselves instead of paying a fee of €40 a year amounting to an overall bill of €800. Thousands of newly built homes already have meters fitted as standard – will they be exempt from the €40 annual fee?”
Deputy Collins’ comments come in the wake of the PR disaster that surrounded the water meter announcement last week.
The question now is would you rather fit the water meter yourself for less than half of what the government is charging or would you be happy enough paying €40 a year for the next 20 years?
