Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The plot is thickening in the Irish Water fiasco as it appears from the latest reports that Irish Water staff will not be paid any bonuses for 2014 and that the entire pay structure is to be reviewed. We have had the Minister, Deputy Kelly, expressing a personal view in the Dáil that the charges for fitting a water meter are too high and we have had the Tánaiste express what was subsequently called "a personal view" that the water allowances for families are too low. I was not aware as a matter of law or otherwise that Ministers speaking on the record of the House on matters of public interest could give personal views as opposed to the views of the Government of the day. Moreover, the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, stated last night that the enforcement mechanism against those who refuse to pay water charges has yet to be determined. It is time for the Government to admit that the confusion and public anger over the Irish Water fiasco is largely due to the fact that the Government has no clear idea what has gone on. The Government is like a car skidding on ice, it does not know whether to press the brake or the accelerator or whether to turn left or right and that has contributed to public frustration and contempt among families. It is time for the Government to clarify exactly what the average family can expect to pay, what the installation of water meters will cost and what enforcement mechanisms are proposed.

I agree with Senator Bacik's comments in that it is utterly unacceptable for any groups in civil society or trade union leaders, the spokesperson of one of which I heard interviewed this morning, equivocating in any kind of way about unacceptable tactics when it comes to public protest. We deserve much better leadership. It is quite possible to show and demonstrate legitimate public anger without detaining other people, striking at their vehicles or using foul and unacceptable language. I have no sympathy for this Government and its many bad decisions and unacceptable leadership in a number of different areas, but we should all unite in condemning unacceptable tactics of protest. We should expect the best from trade union leaders and other convenors of public protests.

I wish to raise briefly an issue I have had to raise previously, that of the allocation of judicial resources. A disgraceful situation occurred two weeks ago in Galway where Circuit Court civil hearings for November were cancelled because no Circuit Court judges were available to hear cases due, in the main, to the fact that judicial vacancies were not being filled promptly. Apart from the obvious problems this causes litigants in terms of both their time and costs, the real story is that it could have been avoided. Six specialist judges of the Circuit Court appointed to deal with insolvency applications under the 2012 Act are operating currently with very little to do, as the thousands of insolvency actions expected never materialised. While the flaws in the 2012 Act are a matter for another day, the judges, each, earning salaries of more than €140,000 a year, are reportedly frustrated because they have so little work to do. It is unbelievable that court sittings are being cancelled in one area while judges costing the taxpayer close to €1 million, when pension entitlements are included, are under-utilised. I sympathise with the judges in question. This situation is not of their making and it must be depressing for them to have so little work to do. Will the Leader, for the sake of the judges in question as well as for the sake of the long-suffering court-using public and taxpayers, ask the Minister for Justice and Equality that these judges be redeployed as a matter of urgency, and if that is not possible, to explain why it is not?