Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin traded insults in a Dáil row over Irish Water, each calling the other a "fraud".

Mr Kenny accused Mr Martin of being a fraud when the Fianna Fáil leader hit out at the announcement by the water authority that it would cut 1,200 jobs, as part of its business plan.

Mr Martin said Irish Water had created 700 additional jobs above those already in water services in the local authorities and paid them bonuses.

He claimed €550 million had been wasted on water meters “when they will never be used” as a payment system based on usage. The public’s general taxation had paid for this, including €265 million from motor tax going to the set up and operational costs of Irish Water this year and €316 million next year, he said.

“If you take the full total that has been spent, we are worse off by €800 million, and not an extra cent has been spent on water infrastructure,” he said.

Utterly fraudulent

The Taoiseach said Mr Martin was a “complete fraud on this matter”, adding that the Fianna Fáil leader was “utterly fraudulent”, because his party had always supported the concept of charges, originally proposing a €400 flat charge.

And now “Fianna Fáil wants to restore the situation that applied before with 34 local authorities”, Mr Kenny said.

The Taoiseach welcomed Irish Water’s €5.5 billion investment plan, including operational savings of €1.1 billion, and said Irish Water wanted to reduce the duplication of having 34 separate water authorities.

He also said Irish Water was working to make the water supply safe for 940,000 people currently on boil-water notices.

Responding to the Taoiseach's allegation that he was a fraud, Mr Martin said, "The only thing that has been fraudulent is the premise on which Irish Water was established." He said Eurostat, the EU's central statistics office, said Irish Water was no commercial entity, with considerable Government control.

Referring to Mr Kenny as a fraud, he said, “For two years the Taoiseach carried on the fraud in the chamber of pretending that Irish Water would be off the balance sheet and have a dramatically expanded infrastructural expenditure.”

Terrible fantasy

Mr Martin added that the work on boil water notices was already on the way from local authorities.

“That is a terrible fantasy being presented by the Government. Some €800 million has been invested in a monster that has not added any value for the taxpayer.” Irish Water “has been blown out of the water by Eurostat. It has been a costly and colossal waste of public money for which the Taoiseach stands indicted”.

Mr Kenny rounded on him saying, “You cannot be serious.”

He said the Fianna Fáil leader had proposed a €400 flat charge for water without any alleviation for anybody, “no discrimination at all and then you shift entirely and say, a bit like St Augustine, we don’t want water charges yet but . . .”

Hitting out at the plan to go back to local authorities, the Taoiseach said: “So much for the constructive suggestions that Deputy Martin says he put forward in the interests of the country.”