Chaos in the House as Kelleher flares up over fluid training and jobs plan

DÁIL SKETCH:THE GOOD news is nothing much has been done about water meters. The bad news is nothing much has been done about water meters. A dangerous topic for pro-treaty parties to be raising the week before the referendum, but Fianna Fáil's Barry Cowen said the Taoiseach had promised 2,000 jobs for quantity surveyors, engineers, plumbers and others with all this water that was going to be metered.

With the ominous soundings about job losses from Hewlett Packard, the Laois-Offaly TD asked whether there were any plans by Fás or Solas to begin training for all this water metering so 2,000 people could get those jobs. He asked whether the Ministers for Environment, Jobs, Education and Social Protection had met to discuss how people on the Live Register could avail of the training.

First things first, said the Tánaiste. It’s a staged process, he said, and the first stage is setting up the water authority through Bord Gáis. And then the water utility will work on how the actual metering will take place.

Didn’t that just show, said Barry, the rhetoric didn’t match the reality and there was nothing to show the Government actually had a plan?

There will be 2,000 jobs, the Tánaiste insisted. “But first we have to see the proposals from the water utility company.” And aren’t there job proposals in other sectors? Sure look at Nama’s announcement of a €2 billion investment, he said. That was going to create jobs in the construction sector.

That was just too much for Fianna Fáil’s Billy Kelleher. “You’re the most hypocritical man I know,” he roared across at the Tánaiste. “You once accused Nama of being a bailout for bankers and developers.”

“Do you not want jobs?” retorted Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin. “Ye destroyed enough of them.” “A bailout for bankers” roared Billy. “You hypocrite, you hypocrite, you hypocrite,” roared back Labour’s Emmet Stagg.

The Ceann Comhairle told Billy to stop, warned him again. And then ordered: “Leave the House.” “The hypocrite should leave the House,” said Billy sullenly, looking over at the Tánaiste. “We’re not putting up with this roaring and shouting every morning,” said the Ceann Comhairle.

Sinn Féin’s Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin brought proceedings back to what has been the topic of the day for weeks – the fiscal treaty. Following categoric assurances there would be no changes to the treaty, Caoimhghín wondered did the Government ask for no changes, or “meekly accept” no changes to a treaty. And he used the analogy of a car to describe the treaty. It’s a “carefully crafted German-engineered text” and it had “only one gear. There is no reverse, the steering is locked. It can’t turn right. It can’t turn left. We’re heading straight for whatever lies ahead within its consequences.”

When it comes to cars, though, there are very few who will criticise German engineering.

The Tánaiste was well prepared to criticise Sinn Féin, especially when Caoimhghín kept interrupting about the proposals the Government had put forward. More roaring ensued.