It has been reported that people who receive fuel-allowance and the long-term unemployed are to receive a rebate of €100 off their water bills.

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Environment, Barry Cowen TD, said for the last three years, he has called for an ability to pay clause to be considered in relation to water charges but the Government ignored his requests.

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He said: "The penny now seems to have finally dropped with the Government. Fine Gael and Labour chose to ignore repeated warnings about the outlandish spending costs associated with the set-up of Irish Water. It is unfortunate that the Government are only now accepting that they have imposed unfair water charges people without proper scrutiny.

"One of the most glaring omissions in the onset of water charges has been the fact that no account has been taken for people's ability to pay. Now belatedly, after a massive protest in Dublin last weekend, Fine Gael and Labour are desperately scrambling to come up with some way of providing relief for the unemployed and those on social welfare payments."

(CD/JP)