Tánaiste Joan Burton has said that she expects payment rates for Irish Water bills to increase in the future.
Irish Water claimed this morning that 51% of those billed are complying at the moment, after initial figures on the first billing cycle put the figure at 43%.
So for first bill, @IrishWater refused to give figures. Now they're giving updates the moment they pass 50% mark. Forgive my skepticism.
— Paul Murphy 🏳️⚧️ (@paulmurphy_TD) September 14, 2015
Bills for the second quarter of the year are still being sent out.
Welcoming reports that more people are paying their water bills, Minister Burton hailed it is a significant improvement.
"We hope to encourage everybody to pay - and already if the figures, if the story that's in the media this morning is correct, then what Irish Water predicted - we're setting up a very large public utility," she said.
"The expectations are that as each billing cycle arrives, the actual payment rates will increase over time".