What a week its been..... From the infamous Kidnapping of Joan Burton in Jobstown last Saturday and the subsequent media frenzy, to Leo Varadkars slip up on Tuesdays Primetime show, when he let slip that the setting up of Irish water has nothing to do with conservation and all to do with Irish water being able to borrow as a stand-alone entity, separate from the Governments balance sheet. Then on Wednesday TD and environment minister Alan Kelly rose to speak in the Daíl and began by assuring us that the government has listened to the people. Well, the peoples message on the Irish Water fiasco, as we know, was and still is crystal clear - NO WAY WE WONT PAY, so you would expect the government who has listened to the people to hear the message and to scrap water charges. Will they? Well, no. Not yet anyway. Instead, we were treated to a laughable range of measures and concessions. Lets look at some of them. PPS Numbers - The Government had previously told us that the surrendering of our PPS numbers was an essential and vital requirement. Now they tell us that PPS numbers are no longer needed. Legislation - The government had previously told us that the legislation contained in the water services act 2013 provided a ban on privatization (it clearly doesnt) and would not need to be changed. Now they are changing it. Charges - The government had previously told us that metering was the only fair way, so everybody pays only for the amount of water used. Now they tell us that fixed rate charges are the only fair way, so everybody pays the same no matter if you use an egg-cupful or you fill a swimming pool. Or whether you are a billionaire or a single mother on welfare. So we no longer need meters, right? Wrong! Now they tell us that the installation of meters must go ahead because its the only way to detect leaks. Conservation Grant - In order to get the public to sign up to Irish Water the government will pay each signee €100. What they kept quiet on Wednesday but has since come to light is that this grant is a once-off payment. Within twelve short months this sweetener will have already soured. Again the billionaire, just like the welfare recipient, is entitled to his/her €100 euro. Non payment - The government first threatened that they would cut our water supply down to a trickle if we didnt pay their ransom. That threat wasnt working out for them so they then leaked warnings that individuals would end up in court. Even on Wednesday, when minister Kelly explained that it would be up to Irish Water to pursue individuals through the courts, the government was still trying it on, stating that fines of €30 would be applied to non payers accounts after a period of fifteen months. Are they serious? Since then, on Thursday the minister said he would not like to see individuals being taken before the courts and then in this mornings papers John Tierney, CEO of Irish Water, said nobody would be taken to court for non payment. Rented Accommodation - Previously we were told that landlords, private or public, had no power to force tenants to pay water charges. Now, we are told that landlords are to act as debt collectors for Irish Water by deducting charges from tenants deposits. These are just some of the dozen or so u-turns pulled by the government and Irish Water.I dont need to list them all to demonstrate the idiocy of this latest attempt by our leaders to force us to obey. This so called government, elected on promises of fairness and reform, an end to cronyism, bonus culture, corruption and stroke politics, will never learn and never listen. Its not that they dont want to, its that they are not able to! How are we expected to believe anything they say? Does anybody believe them anymore? It is doubtful. After minister Kellys delivery of the latest government solutions, the debates commenced but had to be suspended as Kelly, Kenny and others had scarpered outside to give a press conference, before any of their opponents could comment. These comical debates, once recommenced, continued through Wednesday and Thursday with much hilarity. One of the most staggering observations from Thursday was the oration from TD Noel Coonan who likened the anti water charge protesters to ISIS in the middle east, whilst trying to instigate a race war between our rural and urban communities. As we near the end of the week, all this FG/LAB comedy show is proving is that the people will not be fooled. Not now, not ever. This morning Enda was greeted in Co. Cork by hundreds of vociferous peaceful protesters with their message - No Way We Wont Pay! Is Enda listening? Well, No. Just listen to his reaction on todays News and you can judge for yourself. The Troika are also in town this week, although this time they are keeping well out of the limelight. I wonder why?
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 21:00:01 +0000
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