New water company to be created in Republic of Ireland

The Irish government has announced the establishment of a new utility company to manage the public water supply and the introduction of water charges.

The new company, to be called Irish Water, will be in place by 2014.

The announcement came after confusion over the introduction of water meters and how they would be paid for.

Environment Minister Phil Hogan said a new regulator would ultimately decide on the funding model but there would be no upfront charge for water meters.

The minister said the current system was not sustainable and the new structure would ensure a world class water infrastructure and create jobs.

Mr Hogan said Irish Water will be established "as a wholly owned public water utility and will remain in public ownership".

It will be a subsidiary of semi-state company Bord Gais.

Mr Hogan added that the decision to set up Irish Water was one of the biggest taken by any Irish government since the establishment of the ESB (Electricity Supply Board).

The new charge is a requirement of the terms of Ireland's EU/IMF bailout.

Officials from the ECB, EU and IMF - the so-called 'troika' - arrived in Dublin on Tuesday to begin the sixth review of how the country is complying with the terms of the bailout.

The Irish government expects the review to conclude that Ireland has met all its commitments for the first three months of the year, according to the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan.