Minister-to-be John Halligan: I will never pay water bill

Independent TD and minister-in-waiting John Halligan has ruled out paying his water charges despite his party colleague and junior minister Finian McGrath agreeing to pay his bill.

His position comes as it emerges that Irish Water’s metering programme, with 880,000 devices already in the ground, will be reviewed in light of the Fine Gael-Fianna Fáil government support deal.

Irish Water also says it expects soon to publish the latest figures on household payments, which are expected to show a large decrease in those paying.