Irish Water's seven-year plan was not grounded on reality, Sinn Féin Senator David Cullinane claimed.

“There is no acceptance that this will be a big political and electoral issue,” he said.

Mr Cullinane said the plan ignored Eurostat’s ruling about commercial viability, and Irish Water was behaving as if it was a commercial semi-State company, which it was not.

“The company talks about €2 billion being raised in revenue from residential customers by 2021,” he added. “It ignores the fact that almost half of people have not paid.”

He said the company's plan should be debated by the Dáil and Seanad, adding: "Let us have a debate about it in terms of the foundation upon which it is built, which is very shaky and ignores the Eurostat ruling and the obvious fact that many people in the State have not and will not pay for domestic water charges."

Needed to be addressed

Renua Senator

Paul Bradford

said what was on the table from the company needed to be addressed. “The company appears to do a very good job of keeping itself in the news, sometimes for good reasons but other times for bad reasons.”

Irish Water, he said, was not a conventional semi-State body, given that decision had been ruled on by a European body. “We cannot make that decision go away,” he added.

Fianna Fáil Senator Terry Leyden said the deadline for claiming the €100 water-conservation grant should be extended. "Some 600,000 people have applied but 700,000 have not and that is a loss of some €70 million. Whether we like it or not, there are people who are eligible for this grant and have their own septic tanks or water supplies."

He said Irish Water was “a political nightmare” for the Government.