Fianna Fáil said Eurostat's ruling is "even worse" than previously predicted.

The party's spokesperson for Environment, Barry Cowen, said the agency has raised serious concerns about the establishment of Irish Water.

He said: "This exposes Minister Noonan's attempts to dismiss the crisis at Irish Water as merely an issue with its financial make-up that will soon sort itself out. He grossly misrepresented the reality. It is clear that the European Commission has grave concerns about how Irish Water has been established and the level of control that the Government retains over what is supposed to be a public utility.

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"It is time for Minister Noonan to cut out the spin and start being honest with taxpayers."

(CD)