IRISH WATER HAS been given the names and addresses of people by the Revenue Commissioners.
It’s understood that an electronic exchange of the information took place on 7 August last year and additional records were provided on January 23 and February 17 this year.
The Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, confirmed that the utility is entitled to request information from relevant persons, including the Revenue Commissioners, in order to allow it perform its functions.
There were reports earlier this year that the Environment Minister Alan Kelly was looking at introducing measures that would see attachment orders introduced for those who don’t pay.
Paul Murphy described the reports as an “intimidation tactic”, saying deducting unpaid charges directly from a person’s wages or social welfare was “bullying”.
When contacted by TheJournal.ie, a spokesperson for Irish Water said, “In accordance with legislation, Revenue provided name and address data to Irish Water In August 2014, and again in January and February 2015.
“This information was provided under a formal Data Exchange Agreement between the two organisations and is in compliance with Data Protection Legislation.”
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