IRISH WATER SAYS it has now installed 755,000 meters across the country as part of its metering programme.

The utility’s head of asset management, Jerry Grant, told TDs and Senators that this involved the installation of 645,000 water meter boundary boxes over the last few years.

The other 110,000 meters were installed in existing boundary boxes. Grant explained that almost all of the meters were installed in “deep down areas” of footpaths outside houses and buildings.

He said that of the hundreds of thousands of boundary boxes installed so far, just 14 had failed with most failures relating to worksmaship and the strength of the cover.

However, independent TD Micheal Healy-Rae claimed the actual number of broken boxes was at least 15. He said that the grade C boxes that Irish Water had been installing were inferior to grade B boxes, bringing examples of both with him.

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Grant told the committee that the lids of the boundary boxes could withstand more than two tonnes in weight from a vehicle driving over them.

He said that Irish Water uses automatic meter reading so that a passing company vehicle can read a meter automatically without the meter box needing to be accessed.

Irish Water previously said it intends to install more than one million water meters between 2013 and 2016.

This is despite water charges being capped at a maximum €160 until the beginning of 2019.

Environment Minister Alan Kelly has claimed that households could ‘beat the cap’ and pay less than the maximum charge by lowering their usage.

Read: Irish Water denies it’s carrying out ‘surprise’ meter installations to avoid protesters

Read: If you want your water meter tested, it could cost you an extra €100

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