There could be god news for thousands of Irish households as it has been reported that the Irish Government will offer refunds to all those who paid their water charges.
The much talked about rebate costing in the region of €140m will come after the Oireachtas Committee on water charges agreed that all those who paid should be entitled to a refund.
The committees recommendation was made after they agreed that the prospect of forcing those who refused to pay would be unrealistic, and in the interest of fairness the 900,000 plus households should be entitled to a refund.
The prospect of a refund is made all the more likely this morning after it was reported that the Government are willing to concede defeat over the charges in attempt to offer an olive branch to Fianna Fáil who strongly oppose the charges.
However the debate about charges for wasteful usage is likely to rumble on as Fine Gael claim the state would be in breach of EU law if charges were not implemented.
Although Fianna Fáil have since sought legal clarification regarding the issue and say the state would not be in breach of any law as long as they charge those who are found guilty of wasteful usage with the appropriate fines.