Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty has said the detailed decision from Eurostat to the CSO on Irish Water shows the Government has been providing misinformation on the true nature of the decision.

He said Sinn Féin’s prediction that the bluff of the so-called Water Conservation Grant would be called by Eurostat had been well and truly proven to be correct and that Irish Water is at only 27 per cent and not 48 per cent of the required 50 per cent revenue being realised independently.

"The Eurostat letter shows that Minister Noonan and other government Ministers have been blatantly misinforming about the true nature of the decision," said Mr Doherty

“Eurostat also drive a horse and cart through the Government’s attempt to pretend that the €100 so called Water Conservation Grant is independent of the Irish Water decision,” said Mr Doherty.

He said EU accountants had not been not fooled by the nod and wink approach of the government.

“Contrary to government spin, Eurostat are clear that Irish Water is a long way of reaching any sort of ‘off book’ status. This report is a damning attack on the Irish government’s incompetence and once again shows that their sums simply don’t add up. It also exposes their misinformation,” said Mr Doherty.