Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste for her response. Unfortunately, she did not answer the question I asked. I did not ask her to reassure the House, or to give any further detail about the cost associated with putting this bonus-driven, gold-plated super quango in place. Some €700 million has been spent to date without a pipe in the ground being fixed anywhere in the country. I asked the Tánaiste to say what she thinks of the bonus system in Irish Water today. Having gone round the houses, she eventually said she does not think any such payments should be made during the set-up period. What does she think?

I will ask her directly again. Does she agree with them, or does she not? Does she agree with them during the set-up? Does she agree with them when Irish Water has been set up and is in place, robbing Peter? It is a very simple fact the Tánaiste is going to have to answer. I would like her to be honest and to answer the question directly. Will the bonus scheme go ahead or will the Government succumb to the pressure that I heard from Labour Party and Fine Gael backbenchers when we debated the Fianna Fáil motion over the past hour? They are blaming the Tánaiste and her colleagues in government for allowing this and putting this in place. That is what they did, whether they like it or not. Does the Tánaiste agree with what they did? Does she agree with it into the future? Will she do something about it? If she does not intend to do so, she should be clear about it. The backbenchers need to know. If that is what they think, they can withdraw their support for the Tánaiste and her Government.

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