According to various reports the Government has found themselves in hot water after a number of accusations have been issued by opposition TD’s who say the state have been lying to the public over where the revenue is coming from to support Irish Water.
The accusations come after recent figures published by Eurostat suggest that even if every household in the country paid their bills, the utility would still be the subject of a bailout by the government. According to the statistics agency the firm must remain on the exchequer balance sheet after it failed the Market Corporation Test.
The news has somewhat angered Sinn Fein finance spokesman Pearse Doherty who says figures released by Eurostat found the company has collected just 27% of its revenue from customers based on its measurements. Me Doherty said: “The Eurostat letter shows Minister Noonan and other Government ministers have been blatantly misinforming about the true nature of the decision.” “In contrast to the Government spin that Irish Water is at 48% of the required 50% test for revenue raised independent of Government backing, Eurostat states clearly, ‘If more realistic or prudent capital costs were considered, the ratio would then fall to 27%, which is a very low ratio.” Mr Doherty added: “This is a hugely important statement that shows Irish Water falling far short of being considered ‘off book’.”
The TD also slammed the coalition by saying the EU accountants had not been “fooled by their nod and wink approach.