Difficulties for Dáil committee on water charges after first meeting

The Dáil committee on water charges has hit difficulties after just one meeting, after opposition TDs claimed they were blocked from questioning the author of a Government-commissioned report on the issue.

Sinn Féin, Labour, AAA-PBP, and a small number of Independent TDs made the disputed claim last night, saying that they were only told at a private meeting before the appearance of commission chairman Kevin Duffy that no debate would take place on his statement on the matter.

The 20-person Oireachtas committee on the future funding of domestic water services finally held its first public meeting on the issue yesterday.