Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has this evening appealed to his European overlords, saying that under EU law, there must exist a national utility for water, and that water must be paid for.
He said “There was a derogation up to 2010 where Ireland wasn’t obliged to charge for water, but the derogation was ended by the Fianna Fáil-Green government, so legally now under European law water must be charged for in Ireland.
“Fine Gael’s position is we want a national utility for water rather than it reverting to local authorities and we want water charged for, and it’s within that space that any discussion with a future partner in government will have to take place.”