We must pay for Ballygowan-standard water

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton is as out of touch as Marie Antoinette for insisting people must pay for water because they get "Ballygowan-standard" supplies pumped into their homes, opposition TDs claim.

Mr Bruton was accused of “insulting” families in financial difficulties and his remarks were compared to the infamous quote attributed to the French queen: “Let them eat cake,” when told the poor had no bread.

Mr Bruton denied he and Cabinet colleagues lied to voters about the scale of water charges before the May local election campaign.