The European Commission has shown contempt for the democratic decision of the Irish people on water charges, a TD has claimed.

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett was speaking after the EC declared that Ireland does not enjoy an exemption from water charges under EU law.

Deputy Boyd Barrett says it’s an example of “stunning hypocrisy” from the Commission, who demanded hundreds of millions of euro worth of cuts, after the EU/IMF bailout.

“As part of the troika, who savaged and demanded hundreds of millions be cut from the infrastructure budget, which was needed to fix the water infrastructure, it was their cuts, hundreds of millions worth of cuts, in areas like water infrastructure, that have led to the crisis we now have in our water infrastructure,” he said.