Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

------who were brought out in the thick of the night to ensure the provision of a water supply for people who would be using it the next morning.

Both Ministers and Deputies have come out in recent days and condemned John Tierney for his lack of visibility. Until yesterday he was about as visible as the Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny has been at an election time debate, that is to say, he was invisible, but it was not his fault nor the fault of the senior executives of the board of Irish Water. What they were doing was simply implementing Government policy.

A public relations lady representing Irish Water comes out to speak on the national airwaves at every opportunity. She is unable to outline the pricing policy or any of the issues relevant to the people who will have to use the water services provided by Irish Water but she is A1 at outlining the rationale for the payment of bonuses or, as the Government likes to call them, performance related pay. Only yesterday we learned that workers in need of improvement, that is, workers who are not doing their job, will get paid. Is it any wonder there is outrage felt by the ordinary citizens, middle and working class people who are to the pin of their collar trying to pay the universal social charge, property tax and now another charge that is being lumped on their back to cover the set up cost of €80 million and bonuses. That is not to speak of a call out charge of €188 and a pricing model where a household comprising a mother, father and two adult children going to university will have too pay a bill of more than €500 per annum. I compliment the people who took to the streets to express their frustration at the way these charges are being implemented.

I, and most rational people, understand there is a need to charge for water. They know water is finite resource and that it costs money to treat dirty water and to bring a water supply to the home. Why is it that the same people who pay for everything are left paying for the Minister's incompetence and arrogance who did not allow Members on all sides of the House the opportunity to outline their concerns about the way Irish Water was being set up? If this was solely and exclusively about water conservation, why not bring in a generous allowance for every house over and above which people would pay for it? If this was purely about water conservation, which it is not, why was the proposed original allowance of 37,000 litres per child reduced to 21,000 litres? What this is about is implementing a Fine Gael quango that was promised in its NewERA document in 2009, and ensuring the establishment of a super quango and that there were jobs for the boys. Instead of abolishing quangos, it has established another one that pays bonuses to its friends.

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