The government says it will not allow staff at Irish Water to operate outside of Irish ethics laws.

It says it is working on new regulations which will force Irish Water staff to disclose any connections they have to private businesses.

It comes after the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) criticised the government for not extending the current ethics laws to Irish Water employees.

It says the government has not updated the previous ethics laws for nearly a year, so bodies like Irish Water, SOLAS and the new training boards are not covered.