An Oireachtas committee has heard that there would be no major legal obstacle to a referendum on public ownership of the water system.

A senior counsel has told TDs that it is sensible for the Government to be given command of keeping the system in public ownership.

They have been hearing evidence this morning on a proposed referendum being pushed by Independents4Change TD Joan Collins.

Sinn Féin's Eoin O'Broin has said there is no reason to delay a referendum when nearly everyone supports it: "Those of us who sat through the 11-12 weeks of the water committee, there was a lot of things we didn't agree on, but this was actually one of the core principles behind this Bill that we ended up reaching agreement on."