Water charges ‘unlikely’ to return, declares Micheál Martin

Water charges are “unlikely” to be reintroduced, the leader of Fianna Fáil has declared, ahead of a special commission deciding on the future of water services and how they should be funded.

Micheál Martin also confirmed that his party will not back a Sinn Féin motion in the Dáil next week to abolish water charges, even though Fianna Fáil ultimately wants to scrap bills for households.

He outlined how his party had effectively delivered the end to water charges after bills were frozen under the confidence and supply deal with the Fine Gael-minority government.