The Minister for the Environment has been asked to investigate whether some water meters are a risk to public safety.

TDs have been told that some meters may be dangerous to anyone who walks or drives over them - because they are covered in the wrong sort of plastic.

The fears come as Irish Water and its contractors reach the halfway point in their efforts to install over a million meters nationwide.

It’s been claimed that some of the 'boundary boxes' - the cases in which the meters are contained, including the covers visible from the road surface - are in breach of the government’s own rules.

Although the Department of the Environment issued firm rules in 2009 governing the sort of plastic to be used, it's been claimed that some of the meters installed already are below the required the grade.

If they ARE using the wrong grade of plastic, the surface may be too thin and can become too slippery - and pose a major health hazard to anyone who walks or drives over the lid, particularly in slippery weather.

The claims have been made by a company in Cork which makes a different model of ”boundary boxes".

But an Oireachtas committee says the complaint warrants further investigation - and they’ve asked environment minister Alan Kelly to offer a guarantee that the correct plastic has been used.