Kathleen Lynch: We need to bring this back on track.

Simmering tension in the Coalition over water-metering burst into the open yesterday.

Labour junior health minister Kathleen Lynch insisted TDs from both parties were unhappy at the confusion surrounding the issue, warning it had been handled “very badly”.

The comments were clearly directed at embattled Environment Minister Phil Hogan, whom some Labour TDs have accused of deliberately timed the water-metering announcement to take the gloss off the party’s conference in Galway.