Ireland can scrap water charges – according to legal opinion received by Sinn Fein.

This is despite the latest view of the European Commission which says that Ireland must keep the contentious charges.

Water charges have been suspended pending an investigation, and there is still widespread non-compliance.

Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan (pictured) says their legal advice is clear: “It confirms what we have said all along, which tallies with the responses we got from the Commission to Parlimentary questions and through emails and through other MEP’s that Ireland would not be in contravention of the water framework directive if it chose to abolish water charges.

“Provided that it showed that it was complying with all the other objectives of the directive, which is around the conservation of water.”