The Dáil will debate the final report of the water services committee this evening.

A formal vote to end the current charging regime will take place tomorrow with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil set to carry it comfortably.

In its place will be a new regime that centres upon penalising those who engage in "excess use" or the "wilful waste" of water.

It is estimated that 8pc of households will fall into this category, meaning the vast majority of households won't pay bills whatsoever.

The committee agreed that the regulator would determine what constitutes normal usage, and the threshold for wastage will be set at 1.7 times this level, based on the calculation that the average person uses 133 litres per day.

Now that the row over water charges has been settled, the Government must announce substantially-increased funding for Group Water Schemes – that’s according to Roscommon-Galway Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice.

He wants an increase in the subvention to Group Water Schemes by at least 100 euro per house, as he says that’s the minimum that people living in rural areas who are paying for their water for year should expect.

Also, Deputy Fitzmaurice says people in towns and cities will have a free sewage system under this deal, and he’s calling on Government to fund the repair and upgrade of septic tanks in rural areas – in the interests of fairness.