Phil Hogan silent on Irish Water

The environment minister who set up Irish Water and warned non-payers their service would be cut “to a trickle” has refused to say whether the utility should be scrapped.

Phil Hogan, now European agriculture commissioner, repeatedly declined to comment at a farming launch in Dublin yesterday.

Speaking after a week of increasing speculation that water charges could be scrapped or deferred as part of imminent government formation talks, the former TD washed his hands of any responsibility.

He said it was up to other politicians including the European environment commissioner Karmenu Vella to “clarify all issues in relation to water”, and warned journalists who persisted with questions: “You can ask me all the questions you like about Irish Water, but I’m not going to answer anything.”

Mr Hogan’s comments came as Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney said his suggestion that Fine Gael would be willing to talk about Irish Water was “totally misconstrued” and that the utility and charges would not be abolished.

Speaking on RTE Radio, Fianna Fáil environment spokesman Barry Cowen — who last week said the removal of Irish Water was a “redline issue” for his party — said “there’s no such thing as a redline issue until negotiations”. He then insisted the comment was “not a fudge”.

While Health Minister Leo Varadkar and Finance Minister Michael Noonan have suggested in recent days that changes to charges could be made “around the edges” in order to help expected government formation talks between the parties, questions have been raised over what impact this will have on the wider bills service.

Nevin Economic Research Institute macro-economist Tom McDonnell told the Irish Examiner if subsidies are introduced for the most vulnerable households, middle-income earners could see water charges surge to over €350 in order to balance out the lost funds.