Fears of service cuts to refund water fees

The Government are under fire for holding back money for cash-starved services and instead plunging the unspent budgets into refunding households for the botched water charges regime.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe confirmed that €178m will be spent on water refunds, potentially by the end of the year, a one-off spend which will come from savings across departments.

However, questions have arisen over whether services and supports in health, education and social protection among other areas will be neglected to pay back over a million households.