Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The manner in which Irish Water has been established under a cloak of secrecy has angered many people across the country. The people were not told by anyone in Government that the establishment of Irish Water would cost €180 million, €50 million of it for consultancies, a fact that we learned only from the Today with Sean O’Rourke radio programme last Thursday. Throughout last year Deputy Barry Cowen, I and Deputies on all sides of the House, Government and Opposition backbenchers, were asking specific questions of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government about the cost of establishing Irish Water, the number of consultancy firms hired and many other questions. No detailed answers were forthcoming despite the fact that, as we now know, all of the information was with the Minister and the relevant Departments for well over 12 months, indeed as far back as the budget announced in December 2012.

It is now clear that the Minister did not want to tell the truth to the Dáil about the establishment costs of Irish Water.

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