The Housing Minister Simon Coveney says he has no intention of making a fool of people who paid their water charges.
He says the money paid in water charges before they were suspended has already been spent on infrastructure.
He was responding to renewed calls for the fees to be refunded, while the Government decides on how to fund the service.
It remains unclear if people who did not pay the charges will face fines or prosecution.
An expert report has recommended water charges should only be applied for excessive use.
These recommendations will now be considered by a special Oireachtas committee, chaired by Senator Pádraig Ó Céidigh.
The group will then submit a report to both Houses of the Oireachtas by February 28th 2017, or within three months of its first public meeting - whichever is later.
Tánaiste Francis Fitzgerald said the committee must decide if people who are paid bills are to be repaid.
While speaking to Ocean FM in Sligo last night, Minister Coveney says people should get the service they paid for.