There were sharp exchanges in the Dáil yesterday during a row over water charges legislation and the recovery of tenants’ unpaid bills.

Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly said his department was consulting all representative groups and legislation would "give effect to measures proposed for tenants and unpaid water charges".

He said that once consultations were concluded, he would then “firm up the dates for the ensuing legislative process”.

During exchanges over the water charges People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said there would be a "massive demonstration" on March 21st which would "put to bed the notion that the campaign against water charges was declining".

He said people wanted to know if the Government would have landlords and local authorities “acting as boot boys” for tenants on water charges.

But the Minister said it was "not right to insinuate that local authorities will become boot boys in any way". Mr Kelly told him: "I do not intend to make anyone a boot boy for Irish Water. "

However, Socialist TD, Paul Murphy, said Irish Water was giving different information.

He said that its message was that if tenants did not pay after one year, “landlords will be able to collect the bill, plus fine, from tenants’ deposits”. Councils would then be in a position to attach these debts to local authority tenants’ rents, he said.

Mr Kelly said Irish Water was giving landlords the opportunity to prove they were not occupiers by giving the tenant’s name. There was “no intention” for Irish Water to be “punitive” in collecting payments.

He told the Dublin South West TD that the majority of people did not listen to Mr Murphy and had signed up for the charges. Mr Murphy said, however, that only 17 per cent of tenants had registered.

Despite this, the Minister said: “We are satisfied that the number of tenant registrations is on the increase.”