Sinn Féin has announced it is to hold a referendum to "enshrine public ownership of Ireland's water services in the Constitution".

Senator David Cullinane also said that only Sinn Féin in government can be trusted to abolish water charges.

He said: "The introduction of water charges for households was the brainchild of Fianna Fáil.

"They formalised this flawed policy in the terms and conditions attached to the EU-IMF Troika 'bail out' loans.

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"In its 2011 election manifesto, Labour argued against water charges on the basis they did not address the needs of people experiencing poor supply.

"Yet once in Government, they too became cheerleaders for this unfair and unpopular tax.

"Clearly, only Sinn Féin in government can be trusted to abolish domestic water charges."

He continued: "We will abolish domestic water charges, end the metering project and redirect the remaining monies to direct investment in infrastructure.

"We will establish an independent Commission on Water Services to examine the most appropriate public ownership model to report back to Government within nine months.

"We will hold a referendum to enshrine public ownership of Ireland's water services in the Constitution and roll out a major water conservation programme in conjunction with local authorities."

(CD/LM)