Irish Water is not what Fianna Fáil had planned

I read the piece by Peter O Dwyer (Irish Examiner, April 21) regarding Irish Water and Eurostat with considerable interest as more than €1.3bn will be added to the government deficit over a three-year period if a key Eurostat decision on Irish Water goes against Mr Noonan.

A lot has been thrown at Fianna Fáil regarding water and the Troika agreement without close examination of the relevant paragraphs.

When I read the Troika Agreement negotiated in 2010, paragraphs 36 and 37, my first thoughts were that they were well drafted as there was plenty of room for scope. I can only assume that the person who drafted this part of the agreement was well aware of the 1997 legislation introduced by Brendan Howlin TD and acknowledged that water charges already existed indirectly and paid by those who pay motor tax.