There’s bad news for anyone hoping that the water charges will be reversed

Irish Water could be here to stay no matter who forms the next government.

In the run-up to February's general election many parties, Fianna Fáil chief amongst them, campaigned on a platform on reversing the contentious water charges that have spawned mass protests across the country. It has emerged today that EU laws may render such a change completely impossible - leaving us stuck with the water charges regardless of who's in charge of the country. According to The Irish Times, legal advisors have instructed Irish Water that “the benefit of the derogation has been lost for all time, and cannot be revived by seeking to reverse the decision to introduce charges,” meaning that Ireland can no longer avail of a loophole in EU law allowing us to avoid water charges now that they've been brought in. So there you have it, no matter who is Taoiseach if and when we ever get a new one... you'll be paying for your water.