Readers like you keep news free for everyone.
More than 5,000 readers have already pitched in to keep free access to The Journal.
For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can help keep paywalls away.
water waste
10% of Irish households are using four times as much water as the rest of the country
New figures from the CSO show that usage of water in Ireland is heavily skewed by a small fraction of consumers.
JUST 10% OF households in Ireland are using a huge proportion of the country’s water, new statistics show.
The stats, released today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), show that just 3.4% of all customers consumed a huge 31% of water monitored in 2015.
The top 10% of consumers meanwhile accounted for 43% of all consumption, an average of 1,665 litres per day per water meter compared to the overall average of 383 litres.
The data was measured using installed water meters.
771,348 such meters had been installed in Irish properties at the end of 2015. The figure has since passed the 800,000 mark.
The lower levels of consumption can be accounted for by vacant properties and the likes of one-occupier households according to a spokesperson for the CSO.
Click here to view a larger image
“As you move further up the chart, larger households, and especially leaks, come into play,” they said.
County Cavan had the lowest average consumption in the country with 313 litres consumed on average throughout 2015, with Kerry and Tipperary sporting the highest of 430 litres. Cavan also had the lowest monthly average in March 2015 of 288 litres per metre.
Longford meanwhile, struck the highest monthly average in June of 474 litres.
In the capital, Dublin 2 had the lowest annual average of 283 litres per day. Dublin 6 meanwhile had the highest average daily consumption in the city at 488 litres per day for the year, though that usage actually decreased across the year from 516 litres in January to 455 litres in December.
The decision as to how average water consumption is to be measured under Ireland’s next water regime was one of the largest bones of contention for the Oireachtas Water Committee in compiling its final report, with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil ending up at loggerheads as to whether the 133 litre per day limit for excessive use should apply per person or per household.
Read: Graphic image shows garda’s injury after ‘vicious assault’ by prisoner
Read: Gardaí appeal for witnesses after cars damaged in Castleknock
