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GROSSLY UNFAIR AND upsetting.
That’s how Fine Gael Senator Martin Conway has described online criticism he received after comments he made about water charges on Tonight with Vincent Browne.
Conway was ridiculed online after saying that people need to pay for water because it doesn’t fall out of the sky.
Water is a finite resource … water needs to be paid for, it costs. It doesn’t just fall out of the sky, it has to be purified.
The slip of the tongue was quickly seized upon by unhappy viewers on Twitter.
However, Conway told TheJournal.ie that critics have chosen to ignore the second half of his comment – where he clarifies what he meant to say.
What I should have probably said was that purified water doesn’t fall out of the sky. Anybody with any kind of a brain at all will understand what I meant …
Purified water doesn’t fall from the sky. If that is the case people should put buckets out and drink it. It costs an awful lot of money to purify water.
Conway said that he didn’t wish to go into the detail of some of the “very nasty, abusive comments” he had seen about himself online.
The Senator said that the issue was distracting from the conversations that people should be having about Irish Water – such as helping those who cannot afford to pay charges.
Conway admitted that mistakes had been made in the setting up of Irish Water – including the controversy over staff bonuses – but he thought they could be rectified.
Earlier today, TheJournal.ie revealed that the bank details of ten Irish Water customers were sent to their landlords by mistake.
The Cabinet are discussing Irish Water today, while the board of the semi-state company is also set to meet.
The position of John Tierney is thought to be on the line, although the CEO insisted over the weekend that he was “going nowhere”.
Conway noted that he wasn’t on the interview panel that hired Tierney, but said he would have “much preferred someone with international experience in setting up a national utility” heading up Irish Water.
I think it would be a great pity if an issue such as water was to bring down the Government.
“Ultimately, in ten years time we’ll have a far better water infrastructure that we will be able to stand over, compared to what we have now – that’s a legacy that any government would like to have.”
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Another lad ready for Brussels
Yes. A real Blueshirt sprout!
Can’t do that. He is a ringer for Phil Hogan. The Germans might get confused.
Looks like he DID come down on the last shower…..mother of jesus save us…..
Anyone with half a brain wouldn’t allow themselves on to the VB show to talk about Irish Water. What did he think he would gain by it.
Phil Hogan’s job is to dismantle Ireland’s Agri business and open it up to GM crops. Our Agri business will be sold off part by part to pay for national debt.
Yeah !
That’s a good point Jason. Since January, 6/7 meetings have taken place to bring in an agreement called the TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Program between the US and Europe – there’s also CETA, a Canadian and European Trade Agreement. How it is being spun is: the agreement will bring down tariffs and create lots of jobs and generate €100 billion for Europe, 90 for the US and 100 for the rest of the world. It all sounds great. Who would say no the more jobs and all that cash?
But what we won’t be told is that only 5% of trade in Europe is subject to tariffs. What its really about is investment and a by product of that could be a lowering of regulations. While 6/7 meetings have taken place among ‘officials’, around 600 have taken place between lobbyist groups and the European Commission and only a handful have been between the EC and environmental and union groups! Plus, if a company invests and make a makes a negative impact in that country, ie fracking, if the Government introduces a law or say bans their product, that company can then go to International arbitrators to settle the issue. Currently, Philip Morris is suing Australia for making plain packaging mandatory on cigarettes.
Anyway, while they are preaching investment will be great for jobs, there could be a price to be paid for lowering our standards.
Home work for Martin
http://www.filtersfast.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/water-cycle5.jpg
People of Ireland we need to wake up. I haven’t seen one shred of evidence that the money made from people paying this charge will be ring fenced to make our water better and safer to drink. I haven’t seen any evidence that the property tax money was reinvested in my local area and I have no confidence that this will be any different. Let’s face it this is all going to be set aside to pay banking debt. Our hard earned tax and cut backs of the past number of years are being chipped away by the government’s reckless spending in setting up this company. In on a scale last seen by FF. Enda Kenny said himself early on in his tenure that this was not our faults, yet the charges, taxes and cuts are getting steeper and steeper every October and sucking us all dry. He wants a thump to be honest. If you don’t agree then why are we at the end of austerity paying the single most costly tax for families of the whole austerity people now?
Because it’s not over. This is going to go on and on and on every year and a charge of e300+ per household is going to come through our letterboxes until we wake up and say no more. So we need to start now by saying no more to the additional burden of banking debt on Irish families and march on November the 1st and refuse to pay for a bill that is being balloned by the salaries of fat cats in IW.
Well said Pol!!
No more.
The Euro is being exported from Ireland at an alarming rate to feed greedy foreign interests no differently to how the potato was during the Great Famine.
We put up with some amount of rubbish. But this truly is the straw that broke Paddy’s back! NO MORE!!!
Paul summers is right we need to do something!
Again Fine Gael open their mouths, but only to change feet.
i was watching this last night and it was very funny, but to be fair i did know what he meant. that said, whilst watching it I was wondering to myself if the man actually believed what he was saying. I’m wondering what all Fine Gael and Labour Oireachtas members actually really think about the Water Charges. Free from the party whip and allowed to tell the truth, what would they say?
They will all find out in next elections.
I’m wondering if the man understands that we already pay for it.
Would you prefer them to tell the truth that sewage treatment plants discharge into our lakes and rivers and this eventually feeds into reservoirs.
Exactly, isn’t €1.6billion enough to cover the costs of purification, then Martin?
At times like this I would gladly ask Angela Merkel to come up with a practical solution, whereby Irish government departments always seem to go about doing things in a convoluted fashion that serves nobody’s interests at the end of the day.
he is not allowed understand fook all,,,Down with that sort of thing,, Enda does not allow anyone in his cabinet who understands stuff,,
@ Chris Kirk: Maybe you shouldn’t ask Merkel. German water charges are the second highest in Europe after Denmark.
Who you voting in Tony? Oh wait – independents. Which major party first though?
Given a couple of years, we will be on the top of that list, no problem.
Ryan, I am a great believer in the argument that you get what you pay for. I am sure that the Germans and Danes have excellent water services and therefore people are confident that what they are paying for is a quality product. If not then it certainly should be.
Except Chris we won’t get a similar service to the German or Danes. This is literally going to filling a hole in the finances and ultimately to pay back debt. We are just going to be paying for the bad service that we have now.
You are right Pol, instead of pouring millions into setting up Irish Water the government should have instead provided the local public service with money to improve their local water supplies. It is ridiculous for people to have to pay for water which is of poor quality. It was also ridiculous to call the company ‘Irish Water’ when it apparently includes sewage treatment.
Chris Kirk, a few interests were served. Phil Hogan’s buddies were loaded on board. A certain business man, well known to FG got his grubby fingers in the pie. IW was never ment to be in the peoples interests.
Lets face it, nearly everything that this government has attempted from the start has resulted in problems of their own making. They seem to be in a big hurry to make changes without thinking through the consequences and then have to backtrack half way through instead of getting the right qualified people involved in setting out a plan from day one.
Had they put an extra €2 on the USC and them diverted that amount into repairing our water services they would have raised just as much as they will if everyone paid water charges, there would have been no need for Irish Water and we the taxpayers might have moaned for a week or so about it. But that wouldn’t have achieved the long term goal which is of course privatisation and nest eggs for the boys.
I must be hanging around with the boys on the wrong street corners so!!
Chris – We should have excellent service from the existing funding too , as we are paying 2% of the VAT take that we all spend , as well as 5% of our Motor Tax ?
Is the VAT rate coming down 2% in January ?
Are the Motor Tax rates coming down in January too ?
Well Chris – I’m not paying anything additionally for my water supply , that I have already been paying since 1997 !
Politicians should be required to take an intelligence test BEFORE standing for election.
Anybody with any kind of a brain will understand that Irish Water is a scam.
I don’t mind the fact Martin Conway made a silly mistake, what I find “grossly unfair and upsetting” is going on a TV show to spread disinformation.
Money doesn’t grow on trees.. but it is made from them.
Not it’s not. Money is made from cotton and linen.
So money grows in fields?
Touche Joanna :-)
It may be made from cotton and linen but my pockets still aren’t lined with it.
“Not it’s not. Money is made from cotton and linen.”
Maybe US dollars. Euros are made from paper. Some other countries, like Australia, use polymer.
What about coins ?
Don’t say that John. When I was 4 I planted a 10 pence. Im expecting my money tree to start growing any day now.
I’ll be happy to pay this water tax if I can do it in punts. When my money tree grows.
@jake euro notes are made from cotton fibre. It’s worth a Google.
I’d say some other 4 year old lad saw you planting it Thomas. Sometimes better to consume than invest.
Diarmuid, is back on, doing his usual trolling bit and deflecting, as instruced.
Thomas, I’ll buy that tree off you.
I will offer you 10p.
” anyone with a brain” this illustrates what these muppets think of the electorate , we are only cogs in the wheel that keep these muppets in government and pay for their elite retirement…the government certainly had brains alright…brains to screw us all so that we have no quality of life left!
I looked him up and saw this….
Martin Conway is a Fine Gael Senator elected to the Administrative Panel in 2011. He is the Seanad spokesperson on Justice, Disability and Equality and is the first visually impaired member of the Oireachtas.
He was first elected to Clare County Council in June 2004 representing North Clare and was re-elected in 2009, topping the poll.
Martin is the third generation of his family to be born with congenital cataracts. When he was just six months old he was taken to London for a series of ground-breaking eye operations, which left him with 16% vision. Rather than going to a school especially for the blind and visually impaired, Martin attended local schools with his brother.
Martin first joined Fine Gael whilst at school in Ennistymon and his interest in politics continued throughout his college career. In 1998 he graduated with a Degree in Economics and Politics from University College Dublin.
One of his proudest moments was to receive the prestigious University College Dublin President’s Award for Excellence, in recognition of his commitment for campaigning and advocacy for people with disabilities.
Martin campaigns tirelessly on behalf of people with disabilities for the provision of adequate housing, improved education and employment opportunities, and proper sport facilities.
Martin is a founding member of AHEAD-The Association of Higher Education Access and Disability- which endeavours to make education accessible to all. He is particularly proud of the Willing Able Mentoring (WAM) programme which has successfully placed over 150 graduates with disabilities in employment over the last seven years.
William, all above, laudable as it is, doesnt excuse his talking down to people. Or does it.
@ dave doyle, i agree with you fair play to him and against all odds he succeeded well in life however, everyday in this country you have people battling with difficult odds also, how about families that have experienced suicide, those that look after sick children/parents, severely disabled people and those that give of their time to volunteer saving the government alot of money……martin is in a position that he could use alot more constructively than siding with Irish water….people with disabilities need an advocate that truely have their interests at heart and it looks like martin has abandoned ship…..so many enter into politics with the saving the world ideal but soon change and join the established gang of crooks…..such a pity martin …you decided to side with the big boys!
Everyone who runs for election is ok.. Once they get elected they’re not.. This is the way we must act! Democracy is about always having elections! Every day cos politicians are bad!
Believe it or not Mr. Conway, it costs a lot of money to run government services. That is why we pay you so much tax. yet instead of using that tax money to run those services, you squander it on fruitless projects, bailouts for your buddies and pay rises for yourselves. Maybe use the existing tax to properly run the services we need and you won’t have to keep slapping the people – you managers in the face with more hardship. Anyone with half a brain would think that’s what a government’s job is!
Can we not just go to back to the Garth Brooks stories again?
Pay Kenny’s on Newstalk now
And he’s recording the entire show on his iPhone 6.
Which U2 will be giving away free through iTunes.
answer the question from yesterday.
Jess Christ this is the caliber of the people running this country, now I understand why we’re in deep deep shit.
****slumps head into hands and sighs deeply*******
Incompetents, fools, dimwits and clowns………….such is the calibre of folk we have governing us…….god help us all.
I understand that water needs to be paid for. It wasn’t free before October. We were paying for it then and they expect us to pay double now.
Ailbhe, No one is paying twice for water. Tax is mostly levied from various sources and pooled on a yearly basis. Then all expenses are paid, such as education, justice, social welfare etc. In the next budget, the total expenditure will be balanced with the tax required. Because water will now be paid from the water charges, the tax take will not include that expense. Therefore people will pay once, through the water charges. Does that make you feel better?
Thank you William. As crystal clear as it can be. Yet seeing these thumbs, i’m losing faith in mankind and thus will now delete this Journal app while a few strands of this faith remain…
William, you didnt manage to convince many the other night, i dont think there will be to many buying it tonight either.
William, I will spell it out for you again -
5% Motor tax,
2% VAT,
and, 5% VRT!
-are collected specifically for water. That is THREE TIMES we are paying for water!!!
What the Government have been doing with it is any one’s guess but I’ll put my money on bondholders having first pickings on our coffers with our services coming second.
Dave, he’s consistently persistent, I’ll give him that!
William, I believe you are not aware of what Cowenwatch has outlined. A number of other taxes an levies contribute to the costs of the countries water bill, or at least they did up until now.
Now that we are paying directly for water, logic would dictate that we should cease to pay indirectly for it. However this is not the case. We are expected to continue t pay the same VAT, Motor Tax and VRT. Small percentages of this will continue to fund the water treatment and sewage systems. The only difference I can see, is that we have more of the big brass with nifty titles and over the top salaries and bonuses.
While us little Joe and Jane Soaps are conned. Yay, go us!
Don’t let the door etc. Gearoid.
Cowenwatch, would agree with you there. There seems to be same mantra running underneath all those that advocate that we should just shut up and pay this charge. That we dont posess the intelligence to understand the bigger picture like they do. That we are mearly little people whose primary function in life is to pay what we are told and be happy about it. That they alone know what’s going on, that they are the elite, and only the elite have understanding and knowledge. That we shouldnt rock the boat or mess with well thought out plans to get us to pay more. Now i’m not suggesting William Grogan is one of these, i’m just talking in general.
I don’t know. Maybe you lot don’t understand basic logic, accountancy and maths. I’ll ask a question that remains unanswered. If we are paying twice for water, who gets the second lot of money? To make this simple, the first lot, the water charge goes to the people who treat the water, Irish Water. And the second lot of money you are paying goes to ????
William, the patronising wording of your post has not been missed.
The second lot of money goes to bump up the general revenue of the state. It is disingenuous to claim it pays for water. Motor tax, VAT and VRT having been paying for this for years and will continue to pay for this.
It is you that fails to understand this, or possibly refuses to believe. Remain ignorant if you wish, the fact remains that we are now expected to double pay for water. Im happy to pay if they reduce Motor Tax, VAT and VRT in line with the increase in revenue.
So the second lot of money, actually the first lot, from tax, goes into the general account. Then it is used to pay for services such as Health, Social Welfare. Education etc.. It would also mean tax might not have to rise or extra monies could be given out such as a fiver on children’s allowance as was done. It’s NOT then spent on water. So you don’t pay twice for water.
“Maybe you lot don’t understand basic logic, accountancy and maths”!
And there you are yourself and you’ve yet to even grasp basic English!
Tree, 3, three times dude – that’s three times money is collected, not once, not twice, but three times, money is collected.
That has not changed since I told you yesterday and it didn’t change when I pointed that out to you on Monday either.
So, what is it; are you naturally slow, a piss poor troll or a Government paid shill?
I’ll put my money on option three myself but I wouldn’t go asking for a pay rise anytime soon. Your shite at it!
Ignoring your waffle and pathetic attempts at insults, can you confirm then that the tax take is not spent on water in the future budgets but water is only paid from the Water Charges from now on? So that you will pay for water once?
Aib, “I’m happy to pay if they reduce Motor Tax, VAT and VRT in line with the increase in revenue.” That’s what will happen. The budget will have the water costs removed and the government will then collect taxes for whatever spending that is required. However, tax always gets adjusted so you can’t say, that €5 for children allowance came from the money that up to now was used to pay for water, or that reduction in PRSI or that change in allowances was used for water. That’s not how they create the spending and tax budgets. But the fact remains water will no longer be paid from tax. So you won’t pay twice for water.
Firstly William, ‘it will happen’ how do you know? That’s a blind assumption.
Secondly, seeing as you cannot fathom a simple concept, I will explain r e a l l y s l o w l y.
Percentages of Motor Tax, VRT and VAT are earmarked to pay for water. They do not go into some big pot and get divided out whenever somebody sends in an auld invoice. That money is SPECIFICALLY and ONLY for water.
Imagine I get ten apples every week from John. I habe to give one of those apples to Mary every week. Then I tell John he has to give Mary an apple eah week pkus the ten he gives me. Now Mary has 2 apples, I have 9 and John who used to give away 10, now gives away 11. Does that make sense??? (Yes I can patronise too)
Aib, you do not know how government accounts work. Money is almost NEVER raised from tax for a particular spend. Tax is put in a general pool and used to pay for government spending. There is no concept of X% of VRT being used to pay for Cancer research or Y% used to pay for government salaries, it all goes in a pool. Next year there will be NOTHING in the general budget for water, water will be paid by water charges. So you won’t pay twice.
A man that is incapable of even spelling my name and claims to know for a fact that Motor Tax, VRT and VAT *WILL* be reduced, despite the fact that this has never been indicated, claims that I do not know what I’m talking about. Hilarious. You make things up as you go along Wallyem.
Let me make it simple
2015 budget
Education+Justice+Health+pensions+government salaries+loan repayments etc=expenditure
VRT+Car Tax+Income Taxes+Corporation Tax+VAT etc=tax
expenditure=tax+borrowings
Where above do you see any mention of water costs?
If you’ve a silly name expect people to misspell it. :)
Water doesn’t fall from the sky, money doesn’t grow on trees and we all wern’t born yesterday
Not born yesterday, no. It would appear that some in the Dáil only recently fell out of the tree though.
Wow and this is what we call a leader.
Our future is doomed.
Did mammy tie his shoelaces and check behind his ears for dirt before he left the house. What a f@@@ing moron.
Even his attempt at backtracking is wrong. Treated water may not fall from the sky, but the water falling from the sky is pretty much the definition of purity. I’d be inclined to think anyone with any kind of a brain would understand the difference, senator.
I’d say the water falling from the sky is better for you than the muck they pump through those lead pipes.
Why does it seem that everything Fine Gael try to do is messed up before they’ve even started?
They seem so out of their depth at everything!
What a total gobsh!te!
I agree what a plonker no wonder our little country is in the state its in when you vote for a muppet you get a muppet
I think I’d be safer to drink the water falling from the sky as is, than the ” purified” putrid chemical laden stuff that comes out of the taps. Who knows where that’s been?
@ jonny downes, 100% well said
As the old saying goes ‘ you can’t educate a thick.’
I’d be more inclined to say “You can’t teach his kinda stupidity”
I heard everything he had to say. My brain is fine. It was total double speak and political buzzword waffle. He fooled no-one. Exactly what every FG/Labour talking head would have said as they towed the party line.
It’s the direction we are going, pay for everything. Fine Gael are traitors
Plus their asslickers LABOUR
We pay for everything anyway! Well, at least some of us do… through taxes, silly! If you get something for nothing then you can be sure someone else out there has had to pay for it for you. Do you understand that?
We’ve been running a budget deficit for years now. That means we’re spending more each year than is being taken in in taxes (bank debts completely aside). This has led to the need to get everyone to pay for your ‘free’ stuff. Pay for what you use – seems fair to me. If someone doesn’t consider that to be fair then they move go to the Socialist Utopia – if they can find it. I do also believe that taxes should be reduced accordingly but hey, this place ain’t perfect for me either – I hate paying for other peoples free stuff even more than you hate having to pay for your own stuff.
Why don’t you move to some capitalist utopia if you hate paying for those who have nothing Darragh?
You can’t honestly exclude the bank debt from this discussion. To do so would be highly manipulative.
Straws and camels spring to mind – you can’t select different straws when the camel’s back is already in pieces.
I’m an expert at strained analogies.
Where were FG when the brains were been dished out… on the M50 looking for Kennys 5 point plan
How did he ever get elected??
“Elected” is putting it a bit strongly. He got 86 votes.
http://electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=2011S&cons=1
Enda Kenny obviously went back on his promise to reform the senate because let’s face it I would rather have Homer Simpson in a position of power that this idiot. He needs to resign and bring this government with him.
Ha ha ha!!! He should be on stage.
An awful pity if this wad to bring the government down. Well maybe if they didn’t hire their cronie pals on cushy contracts we may not be in this situation
If it is so well purified why can’t I drink it, I have to buy bottled water.
“You can’t just put buckets out and drink rain water”
Is this man educated!? Rain water is purer and probably safer than the fluoride filled rubbish that comes from our taps.
So what’s the problem? Disconnect from the mains water system and use all this wonderful free sky water instead :)
No deal kelly, than sky water is mine!
This is not a story. Move on. He made a valid point, just not very eloquently. The whole irish water debacle needs more studied analysis than this.
Problem is the people doing the analysis are of this senators calibre Cathal……
@ Cathal, “move on” are you CODding me. FG rolled out this one and after he dropped the clanger, he adds insult to his own injury by saying it was “grossly unfair and upsetting”. He must have thought he was on state sponsored media. If he thought at all.
Charging Irish people for water would be like Saudi Arabia charging its people for sand. Due to our copious amounts of rainfall, we have more water in Ireland than we will ever need to feed our people (in fact we should be exporting, for profit, the surplus amounts of it that our people don’t use of need). Despite the leaks in our infrastructure system, we still have retained more than enough water and have never suffered genuine drought in Ireland and have always survived and prospered just fine. The reason? We have so much rainwater to begin with.
We don’t need another quango full of cossetted public servants who will be a big drain on businesses and families, and who, when they are done fattening themselves, will be expected to act as just another revenue raising monstrosity for the Government at the expense of hard-pressed private citizens.
John, sand just doesn’t come from erosion ya know!!!!!!!
Anyone with any kind of brain wouldn’t have come out with a statement like that.
One eye lookin at you, the other lookin for you. #irishpoliticians
The man was unbelievably stupid to make that comment but he is practically blind
http://www.finegael.ie/our-people/senators/martin-conway/
Perhaps we could leave out the personal insults.
Derp.
Unlike water, one thing that doesn’t fall from the sky is money… although they seem to think we have an endless supply of it
How exactly did he see the comments made about him online?
His comment is almost as bad as Enda’s ” it’s illegal, it’s immoral and it’s unjust to tax a persons home, then brings in the property tax.
This idiot makes it even more obvious that all senate jobs are political appointments to ready them for either the Dail or some other cushy number while they screw a few pensions etc from us. He’s rolled out on tv with this script everytime they want a sympathy vote. Never hear a word from him otherwise. It would make you sick.
Well, I hope the people who voted for the retention of this fool, and fifty nine others are happy. That’s the quality of Senator we have become famous for.
Can I just say that this water scandal mess has increased my pride in the Irish. Because I would not consider those gangsters in the dail patriotic in any sense. But the way the Irish people, the true hard working people of this land, the way we have all banded together on this and stood our ground and have said No More is honourable. We have been kicked and kicked while we were down and we have been backed into a corner and it’s time we started fighting our way out. Because we know that not one of those politicians gives a flying feck about us while they rest on their fat wages on their fat arses so fair play to everyone fighting, young or old, by going out protesting or simply supporting the cause fair play!!! We are the Irish, we have dealt with bigger and uglier than these lot, it’s time we reclaim this place as our home and no longer feel like tenants in our own country. We’re a very special people.
Yes. We have pianos mines and bulbs plantations.
Are people actually mad about this? You would have to be thick to not understand he was talking about the costs of purifying and pumping treated water.
I totally agree with you David, it is clear what he meant.
I am not a fan of this government but let’s try to give people whether we agree with them or not the benefit of being understood.
This is a sound bite being taken out of context for the purpose of a shit stirring headline.
His comment is idiotic in the highest regard. Then he tries to say you can’t just gather rain water in buckets and drink it.
Yes, actually you can. Rain water is perfectly safe to drink and probably cleaner than the chemical filled crap that comes from your tap. This man is an idiot full stop.
He may have been talking about the costs of purifying and pumping water…..but he was also strongly implying that we are currently getting it for free and need to ‘start’ paying for it. Protesters and non-compliants dismissed as ignorant freeloaders. The standard party line FG/Lab are trying to convince people of through mindless repetition.
Water as a ‘finite resource’ is another tactic….repeated often to imply that we are going to run out of it. Use it all up.
It ain’t workin’. Too many people are aware that we are already paying for it….and that it endlessly recycles (that’s why it falls from the sky).
They even had Helen McEntee on the radio out telling us all that we will pay today. They must be desperate so because when the people of Meath put her in her Father’s vacant position she went completely quiet and did nothing for anybody. She didn’t even have a mandate if I recall but got in on the strength of her father’s decent work. Don’t be fooled people this is not for the benefit of us it is to pay back banking debt. Simple as and enough is enough.
Yeah. He said “water doesn’t JUST fall from the sky, it needs to be treated”
It’s the same as saying – Water doesn’t just sit in a reservoir it needs to be treated and piped to us.
Let’s just laugh at the blind man on twitter, not knowing what rain looks like.
David Burke, only a true blueshirt supporter could come up with a comment like that. You lot really are out of touch with the people of this country.
No one is mad about his comments, they just find them very funny and very sad, single handely he is keeping alive the Irish joke and his clarification is actually worse. He then goes on twitter to read the insults !
Wow, should be ashamed of himself..
Hang on, we can get water on Sky now?
This is what happens when you try to defend the indefensible . I think this Senator would be better employed directing his attention to the monster FG & Labour created in setting up Irish Water, a company that might be better named Irish Leaks after today’s
News of tenants bank details being sent to their Landlords. Their motto seems to be ‘A blunder a day’.
Just shows his mouth moved faster than his brain
It sure looks to me like you drank all the water you greedy FG b*****d!
This is just another utility that has been set up to bleed us dry. Yes we need to review our water networks and get them up to scratch, this can be done much cheaper than what these idiots are telling us. The money will be ring fenced some of it will go to the pipeline and the rest will be given out to consultants and pay rises to make them break even. The whole system is corrupt, nothing has been done with rehab or CRC the list goes on. We need to march and show civil disobedience and fxck this government out.
Anybody with any kind of a brain would never have made such a stupid comment..First we had the ‘Fianna Fail-ures ‘ ,who busted the country , and now the’ Fine-aglers’ who are screwing the average Joe without a care in the world….I fear for the next generation, unless they get out of here , as soon as they get out out of their nappies.
Just like oil and gas doesn’t come directly from the ground to the point of sale, water doesn’t fall directly from the sky into your tap. slip of the tongue and such a non story. the standard of articles, on the journal has really gone down over the last few months, almost tabloid style journalism aimed at getting striking emotion in the reader from the headline, so the will click into.
Drinking water that has been collected, stored and treated doesn’t actually fall out of the sky no matter what anyone wants to think it actually costs money to do all of the above.
Similarly waste water from toilets showers and sinks costs money to remove from houses treat and clean so it can be reintroduced into the system.
Ignoring these facts will not make the cost go away
already paid for – double taxation
So Ian you’re telling me that the “sources” of water that supply the reservoirs before treatment and purifying, that water doesn’t come from the sky? I would imagine that rainfall (sky based) falls to the lands, runs off into streams and ends up in rivers, also the rainfall (sky based) falls to the land, gathers in the water table and ends up in more streams supplying reservoirs. Water doesn’t just condense into a ready made reservoir.
equally treating the public like idiots and creating monsters like IW without any regard for the taxpayer and filling us with bull about the conservation and how it was FF and the troikas fault along with unicorns and jesus that has helped land these lot in trouble………simple as this let edna or joan brutal park their yellow carcass in front of a live tv audience and explain that this is a tax its not about conserving, admit they got the whole thing wrong from the start and then ask for time to put it right and apologize to the country
“Ultimately, in ten years time we’ll have a far better water infrastructure that we will be able to stand over, compared to what we have now – that’s a legacy that any government would like to have.”
I think we would have a perfectly adequate water infrastructure now if the money they’ve wasted on the setting up of this latest quango/stealth tax was directed at fixing the existing problems.
In ten years, IW will be a private company, and these goons talking on the tellybox will have retired or taken up residence with their well-suited mates in Brussels, or wherever the Euro party is at.
We may pay for it already but our system is a joke so evidently we aren’t paying enough and it’s been dreadfully mismanaged up till now not by IW but by the local authorities, and no i don’t consider a system where we lose 40% adequate in any way shape or form. In 10 years we are gonna wish IW had worked, people have every right to protest due to it’s inefficiencies, corruption, whatever they like, but at the same time ignoring the fact our water system is FUBAR is not going to make the fact that we need to invest more into it go away, which like it or not ultimately means paying more for it
Ian read my previous post how much is it costing to set up IW?, I don’t have a figure but it costs €500 to install one water meter to a household, not to mention the ridiculous consultancy fees, do the math a colossal amount of money which could’ve went to repairing and maintaining the existing infrastructure..
And then who pays for the maintenance of it with no meters? Fair enough you don’t want a private company but what iof it was a government body managin the meters? We need to pay for what we use and not a fixed rate, that is not something we are going to get away from. Also you are still underestimating how much fixing the system for the long term will actually cost, we are talking in the range of billions here.
Is that so? Produce your figures to validate that argument, Ian. Real verifiable figures, then I might consider what you are asserting.
I am sick to the teeth of all the hype over water charges – it is simple as this : we just have to pay our fair share per household . businesses have been metered for years – what I seriously object to is the WASTE that is going on through leaks , bad piping and the inept Management controlling it. The BONUS culture in Ireland must stop –
I can’t believe the water hype in recent days, the media is also whipping it up , so to are other political groups to discredit the Government
When the VAT went up from 21% to 23% there was barely a whisper . That 2% hike has hit us far harder that a couple of hundred annually on water charges . This guy is right, it does not just fall from the sky , there are huge costs in processing it and distribution . The fault now lies in the Management of it and that’s what needs to be dealt with -
Eh, we do. Through general taxation.
Mike Howard, then get on with it, like you say we have been hit hard, we wont be hit again. We have paid enough, we are not paying again. Let those that squandered our money on gravy trains pay for it.
General taxation will not cover the overall costs of the water charges . What is wrong with the red thumbers !, everyone in Europe pay for their water and so will we . The overall charges per household is around a couple of hundred per YEAR. Look what the red thumbers pay on their booze , cigs and the like ! . Most certainly hugely more. So stop acting as if your on your uppers –
The real problem here is the costs of Irish Water, the mismanagement of it and the bonus system that they are implementing .
The Government must deal with this issue immediately .
Mi Coward, we pay for the supply and service of our water. Our county councils have mismanaged it under the watch of this and previous governments. The monies which were to be used for upkeep were redirected to pay bond holders (Phil Hogan et al).
Two words “hydrologic cycle.”
Anyone with any kind of brain would not have made such a statement!
No, he ACTUALLY say “water does not fall out of the sky”… as a public figure, he’s fair game for making such a hilariously ridiculous comment. Oh, keep attacking the media and the public for laughing at you, way to go…
Sh@thead alert, son of Doha Phil lurks among the blueshirts
The boys have been found out !
Discussion on VinB last night re measures we can take to harvest water.
I would fully support a tax that would encourage investment in on the ground conservation in each household than the bullshit that IW is conservation driven by Governmental environmental concern.
who let that gobs11te on the television
Who are the gobdaws who vote these gobdaws into office? The buck stops with the electorate in dumbocracy.
I was listening to him last night.. another plank…
Look at the balloon head on him in that picture – what a dope
he’s right it was clear what he meant .
Someone should tell him we all have brains, there are not sort of ones.
Eh you brain dead lacky, we already pay for water to be purified.
Isn’t amazing out rain flows out our taps!
And so the circle continues….
Next election, we’ll elect someone else who will then realise that you have to make money to spend it, have to make the tough calls to implement taxes or cut spending. I can’t really see a rosy garden on the horizon when we get a bunch of independents in power, all trying to look out for their own constituency, endlessly arguing over smaller issues while our economy falls assunder and all the multinationals hit the road…..
If I were to make a comment like that as just me, an ordinary joe-soap, I would be ridiculed mercilessly by my friends.. As I should. It seems he thinks as a normal Irish politician he should be treated better than the rest of us! Everybody makes slips in speech but the reality is, that as a public figure he should be more careful and show that he actually gives a damn enough to think before he tweet!
This country is, finally, had enough of people making mistakes and taking it as a given ! As someone who never cared about politics, generally, people like him (and Joan burton) are giving us no choice but to stand up, shout and stop tolerating this nonsense..!
Anybody with a brain wouldn’t have made such an idiotic comment in an attempt at a catchy sound bite.
No contract
No consent
Power to the people
Anybody with any kind of a brain wouldn’t have said it !
Don’t use it then. Your water charges problems solved.
A product of the best education system in the western world? Or proof that some of these guys are so out of touch that they seem to come from the moon where water doesn’t fall from the sky…
What a fathead f#cking noodle
Stupid and ugly is nothing to be proud of Senator so I’d suggest you keep your mouth shut and wear a paper bag from now on, there’s a good lad.
Cupid stunt ,God we are a laughing stock to the rest of the world ..
Not semi state. Stop lying journal.
Fine Gaels problem has always been, they know what the right thing to do is….. They just don’t se to know how to do it. Bit like someone once said about Dick Spring, I think, if it was raining soup he’d be out with a fork. A golden opportunity to repair and restore our ‘system’, mandate from us all and out they go armed with forks. I support no particular party
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