The future of Irish Water hangs in the balance of the upcoming results of the EU market corporation test, which will be known in June.
The Government is pinning its hopes that Eurostat will rule that Irish Water meets State aid rules, and therefore can remain off the State’s balance sheet.
Crucially though, it has been revealed that the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has provisionally decided to list Irish Water as a public sector body, which means the utility is technically classified as being on the State’s balance sheets until the time of the Eurostat ruling.
If Irish Water fails to pass the viability test, the Government’s pledge to slash taxes and increase spending in next year’s Budget would be in jeopardy.
The CSO has stressed that Irish Water’s classification is “preliminary and provisional”, and that it was agreed with Eurostat back in November.