Irish Water will not make enough money in the future to be able to maintain the water services, new figures have revealed.

Sinn Féin spokesperson on the Environment, Brian Stanley, said domestic and commercial water charges will not be enough to cover the increasing costs of Irish Water.

Deputy Stanley said: "Indeed the income from charges over at least the next four years will not be enough to cover Irish Water’s planned investment in addressing leaks and other infrastructural deficits.

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"From the initial proposal to establish Irish Water, I have said that the huge amount of money given to establishing the new entity, and in installing meters and paying consultants, should have been spent instead on addressing the problem of leaks and pipes.

"That would have proven to be far more cost effective that the current farce, whereby even with domestic water charges, the taxpayer will end up paying more for a clearly inadequate service that is only projected to be marginally improved by 2021."

(CD/MH)