Irish Water to speed up transfer of council staff

Irish Water has been accused of scaremongering after it revealed plans to complete its takeover of all local authority staff working in water services four years earlier than intended.

The transfer of local authority workers to the utility was scheduled to happen by 2025, but Irish Water management now wants it substantially completed by 2021. It intends to work out the details of the takeover next year and commencing the process in 2019.

Around 1,000 jobs will be lost in the process, in addition to the 700 already shed, and while Irish Water says there will be no compulsory redundancies, union representatives say the existing arrangements should be honoured.