Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, the former Minister, Deputy Fergus O'Dowd, expressed the view that Irish Water has not communicated its message properly. That was followed later in the day by the Minister of State, Deputy Dara Murphy, stating that Irish Water could have done better to get its message across. Given the amount of our money that has been spent by Irish Water on public relations, that should be surprising, but what it fails to acknowledge is that it is not the delivery of the message that is at the heart of the problem. It is the substance of the message that people have a problem with. No one, regardless of how good a communicator they are, can convince families with adult children living at home, some of whom are full-time students, those on jobseeker's payments or the more than 30% of people who cannot pay their utility bills that they will have the ability to pay another bill. They are already struggling, and they know that daily struggle better than anyone. Who is selling the message? It appears there is a virtual golden circle of personnel who are linked from one controversial project to the next. It strikes many of us as odd that the former Dublin city manager and now head of Irish Water, who had a close relationship with RPS consultants during the Poolbeg incinerator fiasco, should have two directors of RPS-----

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