The head of the body representing county and city councillors has said that the board of Irish Water has lost the public's confidence.

President of the Association of Irish Local Government Padraig McNally said that under the stewardship of John Tierney, there seems to be one mistake after another.

He said while he is not arguing about the principle of the utility, he believes that local authorities were doing a good job and could have done a better job if they had the financial resources as proposed for Irish Water.

Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Mr McNally said that under local authorities, there was a disparity in water provision because there were inconsistencies in finances.

"I certainly would be of the belief that in many cases the local authorities were doing a reasonably good job and the reason they weren't doing a better job was because of the lack of funding".

Irish Water is likely to be on the agenda at a meeting of the Economic Management Council tomorrow.

The meeting will be attended by Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly and Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Alex White, who has responsibility for the utility's parent company Ervia.

A Government spokesman said this evening ministers understood that people felt strongly on the issue and that they deserved clarity and certainty about the charges they would face.

Minister Kelly today briefed his Cabinet colleague on the Irish Water controversy, it is understood.

The new board with responsibility for Ervia and Irish Water will have to be approved by the Cabinet.

The board is due to be appointed next month.

A Government spokesperson said he was sure that the current board members of Ervia and Irish Water would have to re-apply to sit on the new board.

Both the Department of Communications and the Department of the Environment are currently looking at the issue.

Meanwhile, Minister for Health Leo Varadkar told reporters the Government must communicate the good policy reasons involved.

He said treated water is not free as it needs to be kept in reservoirs and piped into homes and businesses. Like electricity or gas, he said it has to be paid for.

He said the fairest way of paying is through metering, which will encourage people to conserve water.

Mr Varadkar said the Government has a big job to communicate better as to why metering and charges make sense.