Can Government regain authority after water fiasco?

Taoiseach Enda Kenny told the Dáil this afternoon the Government had reacted “with some sense of humility” to the “powerful movement” made up of those who were angry about water charges.

Earlier, Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin, conceded the proposed charges had been a "final straw" for many but said the Coalition was now in "listening" mode.

They are right, of course, but it took a hell of a long time for the penny to drop.

The message delivered six months ago to Labour and Fine Gael via the ballot box in the local and European elections could not have been clearer.

Back then, the electorate bluntly told the Government parties it was no longer prepared to pay what the Coalition was presenting as the “present price for our future prosperity”.

Perhaps the worst thing you can say about an Irish politician is that he or she is out of touch with the people who voted for them, but it turns out our TDs have been terrible judges of the public mood.

They respond on a weekly basis to the most vociferous attendees at their clinics but, as one Minister told me today, many anti-water charges protesters have never approached a TD before in their lives.

This different demographic, and the under-the-radar nature of the growing movement of opposition to water charges, has taken deputies by surprise.

The reduction in charges and removal of the requirement to supply PPS numbers have actually been an enormous success for the protesters, although some of them will never see it that way because their goal is to scrap water charges and abolish Irish Water.

Fianna Fáil TD Willie O'Dea today said that by his count the Government had performed "10 U-turns" on the issue.

There is no doubt the water charges issue has damaged the Government’s authority and Ministers are visibly shaken by the strength of the opposition, but does that bring the Coalition to an “end of days” scenario?

Not quite but this latest shambles means the likelihood of the Government will running its course is reduced, despite what Ministers say.

The realisation they are so out of touch with voters may stymie the Government over the remainder of their term.

The flipside is the debacle has emboldened the Opposition.

Sinn Féin is trying to create a sense that the end is nigh, causing disruption in the Dáil chamber and even holding a conference to discuss preparations for the general election last weekend.

The latest possible date for a general election is April 9th, 2016.

Will the Government survive until then?

It’s like the old slogan: “We’re not there yet, but we’re getting there.”