The Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has admitted that the government may need to consider extra budget measures this year for Irish Water, depending on a ruling by Eurostat.
The government is hoping that the EU agency will ignore the investment in Irish Water for the purposes of calculating the budget deficit this year.
However, the EU body is still to rule on whether the €240m being invested by the state will count towards the budget deficit for 2014.
In response to written Dáil questions Noonan has said the government will have to consider “alternative funding options and general government implications” if the Eurostat ruling goes against them.