The European Union has been monitoring Ireland’s approach to introducing excess water use charges, according to documents obtained through a Freedom of Information request. The revelation comes amid controversy over plans that critics have called water charges “by the back door.”
Earlier this year, reports emerged about plans to introduce charges for excess water use, which Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald criticized sharply. The government maintained its position that Ireland’s aging water infrastructure would be upgraded through general taxation. Taoiseach Micheál Martin stated there would be “no return to water charges,” while Housing Minister James Browne said he was not considering excessive use charges “at this time.”
However, FOI documents reveal that civil servants in the Department of Housing had been preparing regulations to allow exemptions to excess water use charges. The correspondence shows officials engaged with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner earlier this year regarding data protection obligations for processing information about people exempt from such charges.
The documents reveal a civil servant from the water services department noted the EU was monitoring the charge and had inquired about it in January 2025. The EU query asked whether Irish authorities were finally implementing excessive use charges for domestic water users and questioned the lengthy delay in implementation. A response sent between housing officials on March 11 stated that two draft statutory instruments allowing for exemptions were near completion and awaiting consideration by the new minister and government.
This correspondence was sent the same day the Irish Independent reported that water charges were coming back to target wastage. A briefing prepared for Minister Browne, who was appointed on January 23, included excess water charges among the department’s high-level priorities. However, the day after the newspaper article appeared, a draft media response between officials suggested work on the statutory instruments had been abandoned, stating the measure was not in the programme for government and no further work was being done on the regulations.
A senior housing department official had previously stated the charge aimed to encourage water conservation to ensure Ireland’s compliance with the EU water framework directive, emphasizing it was not intended as a revenue-raising measure. Legal provision for charging excess water use already exists in the Water Services Act 2017 as the household water conservation charge. Regulations for exemptions were updated in 2023 and reviewed again in 2025, covering households with more than four people and those with medical needs requiring above-average water use.
According to briefing notes, approximately 83,000 households, representing 9.4% of all domestic customers, use more than 213,000 litres annually. Ireland remains the only part of the EU without metered water charges. A working group on water conservation was established in 2025, holding its first meeting in June.