Fianna Fáil has come under fire for its position on water charges, in the latest Dáil debate on water charges.

It is refusing to support a Sinn Féin motion calling for water to be paid through general taxation, even though that’s its own position.

During the debate Sinn Féin’s Louise O’Reilly said Fianna Fáil had “more positions than the Kama Sutra” on the issue.

But housing minister Simon Coveney defended the expert group on water, and said the system DID need major investment.

“When I was a minister for agriculture it was made crystal clear to me – in conference after conference after conference – that one of the very few, and you can count them on one hand, the number of countries in the world that don’t have any predicted water security issues and Ireland is on the top of the list.”

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD said: “Call it political manoeuvring. Call it doublespeak. But don’t call it ‘new politics’. It’s vintage Fianna Fáil politics. It’s all about the party and the lust for power.

“The fact is there is a necessity to scrap water charges without delay. That is the only way the debacle of water charges and Irish Water will be dealt with.”