Legislation dealing with a refusal to pay water charges will be published shortly after Easter, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said.

Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly indicated earlier this week that attachment orders will be introduced on wages and social welfare payments for those refusing to pay.

Mr Kenny told the Dáil on Wednesday that Mr Kelly would bring his proposals to Cabinet in the next few weeks. "The Cabinet will consider these proposals and make decisions about them,'' he added.

“The Bill will then be put through the Dáil and Seanad.’’

The Taoiseach was replying to Socialist Party TD Paul Murphy who said the Government was indicating it would introduce the legislation through "leaks in the media designed to strike fear into people right across the country''.

Mr Murphy said water charges were not a revenue tax and, therefore, the powers of Revenue to deduct did not apply. Any move towards an attachment of earnings order would also have to apply to other utility companies.

“How many hundreds of new judges will the State be appointing ?’’ he added.

“How many scores of new courthouses will the State be building, or will the entire system simply be blocked up?’’

Mr Murphy accused the Government of engaging in a “high-handed, arrogant and bullying approach’’ on the issue.

He added Mr Kelly was “swaggering around the place like Nelson from the Simpsons, threatening to rob people’s lunch money’’.

Earlier, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams repeated his opposition to the charges and said the Taoiseach should call a general election.