MINISTER SIMON COVENEY was clear when asked about the issue of paying for water, speaking to Newstalk’s Pat Kenny yesterday.

As the minister with the responsibility for water charges, he said that scrapping charges would be “completely unrealistic” and that people who paid their charges “did the right thing and we are not going to make a fool of them…” before saying that those who haven’t yet paid should be pursued.

He also told RTÉ News that those who had already paid would not get their money back.

Not all party colleagues appear to agree with Coveney, however. At a Fine Gael meeting last night, TDs insisted that people who paid their water charges should get their money back, according to reports in the Irish Examiner.

The issue has come to the fore again after an expert commission on water charges recommended that “normal use” of household water should be paid for out of general taxation.

So what do you think? Should people who paid their water charges get their money back?