The personal details of thousands of Kerry County Council tenants are to be handed over to Irish Water.

Kerry County Council has confirmed that it is to provide details of its tenants to the controversial new utility after Irish Water submitted a request for information on the those living in all council owned properties.

Under the terms of the Water Services Act which established Irish Water the utility is legally empowered to seek the personal data of local authority tenants.

Kerry County Council said that it is legally obliged to provide information to Irish Water and that it will take steps to do so.

The exact nature and type of information being sought by Irish Water is not known at this stage and Kerry County Council said it will be taking all necessary steps to ensure the tenants' privacy is protected and any information is secure.

Kerry County Council Director of Services John Breen said the authority is still awaiting a formal request for specific information.

"We will be making arrangements for the provision of the dataset sought, with appropriate security for its transfer. We will await a specific request from Irish water regarding the type , extent and format of information sought before proceeding further," he said.

Irish Water's move to obtain tenant data has been severely criticised by Sinn Fein's Cllr Toireasa Ferris.

"We all know of Bord Gais' record when it came to protecting customer details and Bord Gais owns Irish Water. Council tenants have a right to their privacy and should be consulted before any of their personal details are passed on to Irish Water," said Cllr Ferris.

"Many are refusing to engage with Irish Water while many others simply cannot afford to pay water charges."

"It is unacceptable that their details will be handed over to Irish Water without any consent," she said.

Kerryman