Sir, – Is Irish Water a public utility or a public futility? – Yours, etc,
GEAROID KILGALLEN,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – I recall canvassing in the 1977 general election (for Fianna Fáil) and being certain of an overall majority only two days into the campaign. While I believe the victory was due to a combination of the charisma of Jack Lynch and the sweeteners of the abolition of car tax and rates, the response at the doors was “get them out”.
If the present Government does not renounce Irish Water, and all its works, it will face the same treatment as the 1973-77 coalition. The democratic revolution that they promised has now been taken out of their hands .
Furthermore, the escalation of street politics has its own inherent dangers that should be obvious to all of us on this island. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL JOY,
Midleton,
Co Cork.
Sir, – Given that this overincentivised, overstaffed monopoly has shown itself to be so inefficient even before a single bill has been calculated, perhaps it should be privatised sooner rather than later? – Yours, etc,
MAEVE KENNEDY,
Rathgar,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – In recent times, technically astute humans sent a spacecraft to the planet Mars, upon which a remotely controlled vehicle landed, drove about and transmitted data back to Earth. In a year or so another spacecraft will land a probe on a comet and again data will be transmitted to Earth.
Meanwhile back on “planet Irish Water”, a customer wishing to retrieve water usage data will be required to lie on his belly on the footbath, prise open the meter lid and hope that he is lucky enough to have a meter where the digits are visible. Truly installation and operation of water meters is not rocket science. – Yours, etc,
HUGH PIERCE,
Celbridge,
Co Kildare.
Sir, – The news that some members of staff working for Irish Water will be awarded a performance-related payment even if their performance requires improvement has generated much debate. Politicians and the general public should be aware that a similar scheme has been operating in the public sector for decades. It is called “getting your increment”. – Yours, etc,
JOE PHELAN,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – And so the saga of how not to set up a company, especially a State-owned company, goes on. The company was set up offering a defective product (charging people for a water supply system that wasn’t properly set up in the first instance – full of leaks), which, if it were a private company offering such a product, would immediately result in political and public uproar. The product was badly costed from the outset; indeed, people were being told for a long time that the costing was still being worked out. What a way for a company to launch a product! Then we learned that it was going to employ more people to deliver the service than was necessary to do so, simply because they had to take over the water systems of the existing local authority councils, which apparently it was known that they didn’t need.
And now we learn that this magnificent monopoly, which it seems can obligate us to pay whatever it decides to charge, is to pay bonuses to staff for doing what they are supposed to be doing! It isn’t as though they will have to go out and sign up new customers – we all have to be their customers, whether we would want to or not. And it seems that bonuses will be paid to people who are deemed to be not working satisfactorily – in a monopoly.
What a hare-brained system and what hare-brained thinking behind its setting-up! – Yours, etc,
ED McDONALD,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – The broadcast media habit of asking every Government politician about Irish Water, including views on the tenure of the chief executive, is becoming tedious in the extreme. I wish those politicians would deliver a stock response: “Ask the Minister for the Environment”.
It’s a practice that might well catch on. – Yours, etc,
PETER MOLLOY,
Glenageary,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – It’s time to shout “Stop!” Irish Water is totally discredited. The final nail in its coffin has been the revelation of the award of bonuses to staff.
When the leaks in the system are repaired, people will be willing to pay a fair charge to the State, provided the service remains in public ownership. This latest quango must be dismantled forthwith. – Yours, etc,
CECILIA KEHOE,
Celbridge,
Co Kildare.
Sir, – When Irish Water was being set-up by the Minister for the Environment, it is inconceivable, and indeed unforgivable, that the salary structures were not set down strictly by the Government. The details of salaries and “performance-related” pay now revealed are staggering to behold for the extremely hard-pressed citizen.
The idea that Irish Water staff with a rating of “performance needs improvement” will be able to avail of a substantial increase is beyond belief. The outcome, of course, will be that the Government will announce that the staff were appointed with this ridiculous pay structure as their “terms and conditions”, their contract, and that this cannot legally be changed. Once more the Government has scored an own goal. What a country! – Yours, etc,
GERRY McCORMACK,
Limerick.
A chara, – The annual cost for water in a family home? Hundreds. Bonuses for water-workers? Thousands. The cost of setting up Irish Water? Millions. The value of all this for the Opposition come the next general election unless there are major changes soon? Priceless. – Is mise,
Rev PATRICK G BURKE,
Castlecomer,
Co Kilkenny.