Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE RNLI WAS called to the assistance of a 15-year-old in need of ‘urgent medical attention’ on Cape Clear Island in Cork yesterday evening.
The all-weather lifeboat from Baltimore was launched just after 10pm and collected the youth, bringing him to Baltimore and delivering him into the care of the ambulance service.
Coxwain Kieran Cotter remarked that “given its speed and seaworthiness, the lifeboat is ideal for use in these emergencies”.
Figures from the RNLI have shown a massive increase in callouts over the summer, with lifeboats launched 571 times in the three month period.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Exempt from f.o.i. just proves how corrupt it all is
Well said
Shows they don’t give a damn about the citizens
That pair would say mass
Imagine instead if the outrage on social media and ringing joe Duffy everybody took to the streets in protest.
They would be the end of Irish water.
Can irish Water please turn off the rain seen as though they think they have control over it.
We tendered for work with irish water and all I can say is it was a joke. The amount of paperwork and insurances they wanted in place before we even were awarded any work was scandalous. Most of their engineers have been transferred from the county councils so I wouldn’t expect an different!
Did I read that right fg lab are gonna tax air, they have taxed everything else I suppose
You are as well off. The English crowd arrived with a €400k machine for the meter installation and undercut everyone to the extent that the other contractors have pulled out of Dublin. 47 Gas mains were burst last month. Most if not all of the installation crews are now UK based and the man in charge is the man who is known for his involvement in such multi million calamities as Greyhound Waste and the Ringsend incinerator plant. Tallaght, like a lot of places has unfinished apartment’s all over the place and the Manager who approved all this lunacy retired last year with €300,000 and a pension of €79,998 a year and these people and their likes are now on new wages of €320,000 a year.
Hah.. Hahahahaha… Irish people protesting! If the weather is good you might get 3,000 people to show up outside the dail and 300,000 back home calling them idiots and career protestors.
I’m sure that investigations will show that friends & supporters of Phil Hogan got quite a few of these contracts.
That man is the definition of gombeen!
Was clear that Mr O’Dowd isn’t at the top table information wise. I thought the reason to give the gig to Bord Gais was that they had the infrastructure to manage this in place already.
And so the same old same old politics and corruption of old continues….
When this is allowed to happen democracy will erode
What do you expect? We vote in a gov, but the underlying civil service is a job for life…. The whole staff in every government departments is the same fools make the same idiot decisions
What are they hiding? ” commercially sensitive information”? Is there a competitor to Irish Water ŵe don’t know about? . So much for FG transparency. Irish Water smells. !
‘You can’t just create Irish Water out of thin air.’
Irish water is created out of thin air.
But you can’t create money out of thin air. Yet this statement is use to justify irish Water doing what they like with as much money as they like without having to account for any of it.
It’s unbelievable that we are allowing this!!
It’s going ahead the only thing we can do is not pay the charges the whole country needs to bind together on this one it’s the only way
Eric you need to start a protest
Look we will just have to accept the fact that the second party in Gov have done nothing to restore confidence in our political system…I heard a Labour minister on the radio over the weekend defending the way politics are done now compared to a couple of years ago and he stated that it has changed vastly for the better..The same minister recently contacted a 3rd level college on department paper to see could he get his daughters placement changed from one hospital to another and he wants us to believe that things are done differently now
We are going door to door in my area of cork , asking people to stand with their Neighbours , and not let the meters go in . I would ask the people on here , to do the same , vent your anger on the streets .
But the problem is that the vast majority of people will pay. The minority who dont are cleverly branded trouble makers and Shinners by the media and the public including many people on here.
What people in my area done in put in a second pipe around the meter, also someone dressed in a high vis jacket went around with a crow bar and broke all the displays on the meters, he said when these are replaced he will do the same again, they are on the footpath that in under the control of the council so it is not the householders problem
best option Keith is to draw up some kind of letter of undertaking for the local elections and approach all the candidates and tell them you will give them your vote if they sign to say they will vote against the charges when they come before the council
Finbarr would you believe anything a candidate for FG, Labour or FF says or signs?
@ finbarr
Most of the parties will use the water charges as a voting tool at locals in May . My concern is another recourse belonging to the Irish people is been taken out of our control , again . Also the meters them selfs pose a considerable health risk . All across the states where smart meters have been in place for many years one people are fighting to rid themselves of them . This is the first of three smart meters coming our way . http://www.stopocsmartmeters.com/
I went to my local Labour 6 months after the last election looking for her to apologize for breaking their undertaking not to increase 3rd level fees….It got embarrassing for her she could not recollect having a conversation with me over fees but when I reminded her that my wife was present and she had asked her specifically about another issue it all came flooding back and she said that they got 3rd level fees wrong and would put there hands up and accept that they should not have broken that promise….I asked her was there any way i could have my vote back because it was given under dishonest pretenses and she said I could change my mind at the next election and vote for another candidate ….I gave her my name and address and informed her that she along with any members of her party are not ever welcome at my front door again
Not paying as in the same way people didnt pay the house tax? Lots of brave men saying they wouldnt pay until Revenue were brought in and they all shat their pants
The Revenue strategy worked well for our bullyboy government in the home tax robbery but they don’t have that option with the water tax. The purpose of Irish water is to create an attractive entity for future privatization. They cannot have the Revenue collecting the bills for a private company so a mass boycott is a viable weapon for us to fight the water tax robbery. We need to stand together. Can’t pay. Won’t pay.
Forget that Barry Cowan said it. He is right.
But you can create €50 mil from thin air all the same.
Banks do it !
The stench of cronyism and backhand politics off this. Corruption is an epidemic in this country and it seems to be a cross-party problem.
There isn’t a straight line in this country.
The establishment and ethics of the establishment are rotten in this country.
It seems in Ireland the more respectable you think you are, the larger your status in work or society the lower your morals.
If we can’t get info through so-called Freedom of Information maybe someone in Irish Water will leak.
O my God!!! Cowen is back and telling us about a government lacking accountability!!! Mmmmm!!
Some f€&king neck mate!!
Barry Cowan? I did a double take on that name, thought I read Brian Cowan first.
Still, FF? Kettles and pots…
Yes, still Fianne Fail. Brother to the wise and learned Brian Cowen.
and sister party to FG different sides to the same coin all with their snouts on the trough.
I suppose all of the above comments on this thread validate what’s going on with FG, Irish Water and contracts handed to FG cronies?
Of course it doesnt. This is about there being overwhelming evidence of corruption across the party spectrum. This fiasco, the CRC and Rehab scandals, the City of Culture in Limerick as well as the obvious destruction, sorry “loss”, of documents of what happened on the night of the bank guarantee all point to this, across all parties. It doesn’t validate what is going on with Irish Water, it just shows more of the same old corruption that FF are famoud for so who are they to say anything on the subject?
It’s his brother Barry not Brian Cowen
No, they created Irish water out of the property (home) tax, establish one tax to fund a second tax. The income from the property tax was used to buy meters and allocate e100 million to the water board.These meters which were purchased with your money will later be charged to you again on your water bill at a cost yet to be decided and as you know e50 million has already been spent on consultants……and so the cycle continues, Enda of Arabia is stealing our water and selling it back to us.
Used the money that was allegedly going to be used to pay for local services no less. Don’t expect to see much work done by county councils while the money is syphoned off to pay for Irish water…
Ironically enough the main source of water in Ireland falls from the air! What a plonker
Wasn’t one of the reasons for putting Irish Water under the wing of Bord Gais supposed to be that the expertise of the latter would facilitate the setting up of the former? What skills have Bord Gais and the experts recruited to Irish Water? Are our public service IT, accountancy, project management professionals being recruited,on the basis of their skills in writing requests for tender for consultancy contracts with the political intention of generating more profits for the private sector from the hard pressed taxpayer and householders?
Exactly. The IT skills are available in house (govt resources) and should have been utilised instead of using the same consultants who drain money and are actually good with PowerPoint a d not much else. Sad to see the LPT been wasted instead of same 50 mill going to care nurses for sick kids etc
This smacks of cronies and sleveen buddy buddy politics.
There isn’t a straight line in this country.
Rotten to the very core.
jesus christ thats mental,can anyone tell me what reason they gave as to why their exempt from the freedom of information act ???
That’s commercially sensitive. So it is.
Mmmm. Irish pay taxpayers pay for the odious banks debts and setting up a quango water company that will eventually be privately owned. This Irish govt ain’t on the side of its own people.
Who are the people of Offaly that are voting for this Cowen ,he hurts my eyes ,he hurts my face ,he hurts my pockets ..His brother tells him everything to do to say how to look ..Get a barrel and put water into it.. Brian Cowen .Mr Consultant, come into my Office and I tell you how to make money lots of money, you think I’m joking? no, because the jokes on us.
Just goes to show FG are the same as FF when it comes to setting up new authorities we have nama set up by lenihan answerable to nobody and now irish water……….civil servants protecting each other with no accountability
This crap was set up under board gas who were supposed to know about theses things, like billing and installation, but it turns out they don’t have a clue about either so went to earnest and young for advice ( remember E & Y is the company that singed off on Anglos accounts but could not remember the staff who done the job) so here’s 50 million to tell us how to send out bills and fit these meters, you could not make this crap up, suck it up sheep and pay the bill when it come in
Another bill to add to rising rents, property tax. fuel costs, elec, gas, oil costs spiraling out of all control and a regulator happy to sign off on increase after increase. Car tax, insurance, every single one on the rise yet incomes staying the same or reducing dramatically.
Let me guess it for “greater good”!! and how Anglos letters to the mysteriously went missing in dail and can’t be found!! Honestly think we all slow!! The corruption in the country is outrageous!! Next you hear Denis rodman be coming to visit!!
Burn them out and start again! We have to take this country back from the criminals who have milked it dry.
guarantee first rise will be in 2015 when gas and electricity put their prices up… same regulator will allow irish water pass on price rise due to gas and electricity
This energy regulator is as bad as the previous financial one. Yet, nobody in the media ever calls him to account and queries the decisions made.
What an arrogant comment,he should be fired for insulting the people of Ireland.Thin air and 50 million.
One Australian inventor has done just that. Max Whisson is the creator of the Whisson Windmill, a machine that uses wind power to collect water out of the atmosphere. Whisson points out to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that water vapor amounts to about “10,000 billion litres [about 2,600 billion gallons] in the bottom kilometere [about .62 miles] of air around the world”. What’s more, this water is replaced every few hours as part of the water cycle.
Water from thin air
My dehumidifier does the same thing.
The only reason they would want exemption, is if they had something to hide. It’s a cliche, but it’s true. Anyone know how it why an exemption of this kind is justified.
England and Wales have a number of different water companies and their charges have increased every year. There is a current application in UK for an 8% increase. Scotland on the other hand refused to privatise and retain their provision of water under their local authorities. They do charge a nominal fee but there has been no increase in water charges in Scotland for the last five years. We don’t need Ernst & Young to figure out what was the obvious thing to do. This is the greatest example of political bullying and as obscene a waste of money that I have ever seen in all my life.
Shur its pissing raining all morning and thats comming from thin air ya pleb !…
Actually you can create water out of thin air when the barometric pressure is low you usually get rain
No you cant ,But the government can create BullSh1t outta thin air…
Not that I m a fan of O’Dowd, but this is so typical of the thug Hogan. Firstly he removes the remit from O’Dowd, then when the inevitable cock up occurs O’Dowd is sent out to face the music! What a dog of an Environment minister, and what a dog of a government.
On a side note. Are all the wasters in this country gonna be paying these charges? Or are the taxpayer’s gonna foot that one too?
Nope those who have paid the house tax are paying for it Mitch.
What world is O’Dowd living in, these fools that his party appointed ( probably paid up FG members ) have squandered 100 Million not 50 as reported. In any world any firm having to spend 100 million on set up is bust from day 1, unless the main function is to pass state funds to the party faithful as has been the norm rather than the exception for the last 3 years. People on these forums tend to hold FF and corruption up as one and the same, if so they are certainly being given a run for their money by the highly principled crooks from FG.
In any other country O Dowd any any other minister responsible would have resigned and the board Gais board been replaced but then political theft is an acceptable practice in this country.
Same same same. It really doesn’t matter who is in government. Same corruption under different guises. The system stinks to high heaven.
We were bullied and intimidated day after day by FG/L into paying the property tax and that sums it all up that its an illegal tax. The government couldn’t believe it when the tax passed their corrupt hands. Bullying and intimidation had been so intense that most people were afraid to protest. I’ve said it here before that people should take to the streets and stay there until this government is brought down and you know it would work if the bullying and intimidation stopped. Even if FG/L were to change their mind and reverse the taxes they should still be brought down. This is not the time to bring in Water and property tax charges because when people were suffering from austerity and financial collapse. I think this government are very lucky to be still collecting fat salaries and pensions. This wouldn’t happen in any other country.
What a load of rubbish.
So if it’s all under Bord Gais, it’s not really Irish Water then is it? Wasn’t Bord Gais not just sold off nice and quietly to British Gas which is then owned by a Spanish company? Why hasn’t it been set up as like a plc and the people of Ireland all given equal shares in the company? So now in reality we set up a company that takes control of another one of out natural resources and I’d say it is due to be sold off already within the next 4 years. So in reality we just set businesses up, take all the risk and sell them at knock down prices just so the few at the top each time they do a round in govt get a few quid? And we all sit here and take this?
Oh Dear…probably advisable to pick up a newspaper or watch the news before commenting. No Bord Gais wasn’t sold, Bord Gais Energy and the plant in Whitegate was sold. The company is called Bord Gais Eireann which consists of Bord Gais Networks, the recently sold Bord Gais Energy and the company they are currently establishing Irish Water.
I know. There has to be rain in the air.
Another bunch of civil servants that don’t know there arse from there elbow about how run a water service put there with nods and winks and now we will have to pay for water we can’t drink
The CEO of Irish water who was Dublin city council manager who hired E&Y to see what company to award the refuse collection to.
And also was the county manager of Galway co co when they had their water problems,Then he gets the job of CEO of Irish water jaysus you could not make this crap up.
Was he making that statement with the big bull standing behind him
€50m spent on consultancy. That would take >200 consultants at €1000/day a year to add up. Should have been done for a tenth if the cost. Something ain’t right here. Stinks of brown envelopes, hence the lack of FOI. Dirty crony sc*m.
Yeah ya can – look out the window, tis pishin’!
I want everything for free and I want it now and I want you to pay for it. And if I don’t get it I’ll scream and scream and scream until I’m sick.
Sweet Jesus.
Stop being a gobshyte Alan. The issue is Euro50,000,000 spent on ‘stuff’ nobody knows about. What’s probably worse is that Irish Water are exempt from FoI which is disgraceful. If FG had their way Irish people would be told nothing.
Grow up Alan
We already pay for water through a vat hike of 2%..and given that domestic users account for approx 15% of water consumption..that vat rise more than covers the cost of about 150-165 millions to provide it..and when you look at the water rates paid by commercial/industrial users it more than covers the balance
This is nothing but a grubby little tax theft..to be sold off in a couple of years to pay the massive loans incurred as part of the bail in(113,000,000,000)…jesus…thats a lot of noughts..
If it is to be argued that the user pays..then lower vat by the 2%…
.
Grow up. With any luck, however unlikely, most of the people commenting above might. If not, no real skin off my nose.
Alan if you want to advise people to grow up you might need to understand that a fair few people know that the VAT rate was increased by FF to cover the cost of water when they abolished rates. It’s always useful to have access to all the facts before commenting on something. You for some odd reason think is currently free…….
When they abolished rates? In 1977? And you think that the VAT increase that year somehow still covers the cost of water supply in 2014?
FF bought the election in 1977 and a couple more too. And only now are we really beginning to pay for it.
That and the tax we pay or do you think all the water services until now didn’t cost anything? What we are looking at now is double charging for the same service and nothing else.
When you are borrowing billions and running a current budget deficit then your taxes are NOT paying for services. Or at least not for all of them. Not only are we not double paying we are barely paying full stop.
Taxs & VAT have not changed in fact they have gone up under FG that is used currently to pay for water services and now they are going to charge again for the same service. What do you call double payments Alan?
@Alan.
“When you are borrowing billions and running”. They are not borrowing billions to pay for me. I’m self employed near 20 years. You on the other hand are part of the PS and you have no worries on the job front by comparison. You have a secured job and pension. You are in the elite few. At least be man enough to acknowledge that, instead of being a smarmy git that clearly believes we should all be as positive and stop whining.
O course Fergus O’Down is going to defend this crap – his own party supports it and there is no accountability.
The arrogance of Fine Gael for allowing no greater accountability – and Labour for standing by while this is going on and let the capitalist rule the day!
Disgraceful – James Connelly and Jim Larkin yet again with this government’s actions are rolling in their grave.
But people are expected to pay property tax and water charges out of fresh air.
God gives us water from the sky for FREE to wash drink etc why should we have to pay
You cant create chips out of potatoes either so potato tax is coming in
“You can’t create Irish Water out of thin air” – O’Dowd
Ever heard of rain dumbass?
Of course there has to be transparency in Irish water, otherwise the waters obviously dirty
Has he not heard of condensation?
Enough of this crap talk……. Simple fix ” if it’s yellow let it mellow …..if I it’s brown flush it down”
You can’t create a €100m out of thin air either!
Piss in the cistern and use that to flush down the Brown,or failing that have yer man turn all the water into wine,Me thinks it was done before on a small scale.Fore the price of a few candles it would be worth a shot,Hic!
Clearly Junior Cert science was not Fergus O’Dowd strongest subject. Since Hydrogen and Oxygen are both thin gasses water (H2O) can be created out of thin air.
Oh and here is a video of water been collected on a very high mountain…….THIN AIR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8TBdrzemiM
Seanjohns right…why the thumbs down…
Also I wouldn’t mind paying a fair water charge as it would make people think about responsible usage, BUT only if Ireland was run transparently, fairly and oh, hold on, not gonna happen.
Should we put Ming in charge with an army of lefties to run the show….guaranteed the water charges would go up in smoke
And there won’t be much transparency in the bills we all ultimately receive either… Irish Water is preventing households from accessing their meter telemetry. You’ll get your bill and that’s all. In other countries, one can receive live data from his/her meter. Such data would help one to detect a leak quickly & manage usage better. This functionality is built-into the meters being rolled-out across Ireland. We just won’t be allowed access it. #irishwatercorruption
have your say