Irish Water has been slammed after it was revealed the firm intends to cut around 1,300 water service employees by 2021.

Sinn Fein spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin TD said the cuts are a result of the company seeking to end the service level agreements (SLAs) with local authorities in 2021 instead of 2026.

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He said: "While Irish Water confirmed that there would be no compulsory redundancies even a voluntary redundancy scheme on this scale could have serious implications for the provision of services for the public.

"It was also unclear from the Department of Housing replies at the committee as to whether central Government would meet any additional costs for Councils, if Council staff currently working in water services were redeployed to other areas as part of the winding down of the Service Level Agreement."

(CD/MH)