There has been a declaration issued from the European Commission stating that Ireland is not exempt from needing a system of water charges under EU law.
This means that is will now be difficult for the new government to scrap water charges if it decides to do so.
RTÉ report that MEP Lynn Boylan received confirmation of this news in a letter following a parliamentary question.
The statement she received outlines that member states of the EU need to ensure that the ‘polluter pays’, and that there is a system in place to recover costs for the provision of water services in the country.
The concept of water charges and metering was introduced by the then-coalition government made up of Fíanna Fáil and the Green Party.
If Ireland does not give a satisfactory explanation as to why it isn’t complying with the EU directive, it could face more serious disciplinary measures including being taken to the European Court of Justice.
