Cabinet approves new household charge
Sources have said that the Cabinet has approved new household charge to be payable from next year.
Details of the charge, which will be €100, will be announced later this afternoon.
It is expected a number of low-income households will be given a waiver from the charge.
Both the Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Environment Minister Phil Hogan had promised clarity on any household charge before the summer recess.
The service charge is to be a combined water and property tax and will be set in the region of €100 a year, until schemes for charging for water and a property tax are introduced.
The EU/IMF bailout dictates that an interim charge must be put in place for water, beginning next year.
