The chair of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has asked Irish Water and local authority employers to set out their rationale for the establishment of a single entity in water services in advance of a further meeting with unions next week. The WRC is facilitating the talks about the future of water services.

Fórsa has insisted that the engagement must yield “simultaneous movement” on four strands:

• The future sustainability and revitalisation of local authority services
• A constitutional referendum on public ownership of water services
• The structure and governance of the proposed single water utility, and
• Employment and industrial relations issues that arise from the proposal.

In a related development, the union’s Municipal Employees’ Division has demanded the regularisation of water staff in Dublin City Council. Head of division Peter Nolan said the council had breached a collective agreement, and that this would result in a dispute if it wasn’t quickly resolved.