EU threatens legal action if water charges are scrapped

A senior Government minister has told opposition TDs they may be forced to back down on plans to scrap water charges when the nine- month fees suspension ends after the EU warned doing so could see Ireland hit with drastic legal action.

Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar made the claim after officials in Brussels said any outright ending of the unpopular fees would breach European laws.

In a formal parliamentary response to Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan, EU officials said Ireland is not exempt from a long-standing Brussels obligation to ensure member states introduce a water charges regime.