Sir, – Trying to move this debt off the State balance sheet is clearly nothing more than an attempt at “smart” accounting and a PR exercise. A ridiculous scheme to take our tax money then give it back to us as a grant was an insult to the intelligence of the Irish people and has been thrown out by the EU statistics agency. The Government should now accept reality and abandon its attempts at being “smart”. It is , after all, not very good at it. – Yours, etc,
T O’SULLIVAN,
Dublin 5.
Sir, – It’s official – the real problem is Irish Water, rather than water charges. Solution – disband Irish Water. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL HAUGH,
Cork.
Sir, – All the inherent fault lines underpinning the structure of Irish Water have been exposed by Eurostat, an independent and external EU body.
It is concerned at the Government’s considerable control of the utility company, including board appointments and operations. Naturally it is concerned at state assets being transferred to Irish Water and the incomprehensible fact that the large majority of Irish Water staff remain local government employees, thereby inflating payroll costs. These concerns, combined with the fact that Irish Water must remain on the Government’s balance sheet, effectively labels Irish Water as another Government quango, albeit a very expensive and embarrassing one. Labour and the trade unions believed they had pulled a stroke on the manpower aspects of Irish Water but that is not how Eurostat perceives it. The ordinary taxpayer shares the Eurostat concerns yet it appears to come as a surprise to some Ministers.
Perhaps the Government should consider renegotiating the Lansdowne Road agreement to ensure there is an equal share of the cake for both private and public sector workers. –Yours,etc,
DONAL O SULLIVAN,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Is Uisce Éireann now dead in the water? – Yours, etc,
PAUL DELANEY,
Dalkey,
Co Dublin.
A chara, – Your front-page headline "EU ruling on Irish Water a setback for Coalition's budget plan" (July 28th) should have read "EU ruling on Irish Water a setback for Coalition's election plan". – Is mise,
JOE KELLY,
Dublin 7.
Sir, – Congratulations to the anti-water charges campaigners! They have managed to regress the development of the country at least a generation. Water and sewage services will now have to compete with health, welfare, education and everything else for funding, and we know what happened before when that was the situation. Leaking pipes, boil notices and lack of sewage treatment plants will continue be the order of the day as there appears to be no votes in the issue.
This campaign was, in my opinion, misdirected. The underlying plan to raise funds to modernise the water supply system was, I believe, valid.
The setting up of Irish Water was an unmitigated mess, so the efforts of campaigners should have been directed towards reforming the institution so that it was fit for purpose. That would not have gained votes either, so the populist and mistaken campaign was to persuade people not to pay. Given the public mood, that was the easier option.
When future generations look back on this period of Irish history, I believe that this campaign will be regarded as a chance missed to get the Irish people to grow up. – Yours, etc,
TERESA GRAHAM,
Tramore,
Co Waterford.
Sir, – A good domestic rainwater harvesting system can be bought for less than the €100 grant and still leave a few euro for a modest celebratory drink of uisce beatha to toast all those who both pay for and conserve their water. Sláinte! – Yours, etc,
MAURICE CURTIN,
Ballinlough Road,
Cork.
Sir, – The glee with which The Irish Times is dealing with the latest setback for Irish Water is surprising ("Our favourite disasters and U-turns", July 28th). As a public utility, Irish Water depends on the support of the public. It could also do with some responsibility from Opposition politicians who oppose Irish Water but offer no alternatives. It could do without The Irish Times behaving like a tabloid and kicking it while it is down. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN KITT,
Kilmainham,
Dublin 8.
Sir, – I doubt that anybody is surprised by the decision of Eurostat not to back taking Irish Water off the balance sheet. It has been forecast since it was proposed yet the Government walked blindfold into this embarrassing setback and has tamely handed the initiative to the Opposition and the protesters.
The lame claims by Minister for Finance Michael Noonan that the budget calculations for the next five years take account of this possibility are quite laughable.
The cries by various politicians of all persuasions to abolish Irish Water are somewhat naive. Nobody has done the maths as to the cost of winding up the entity. Nobody has costed the alternative to ensure a continuing healthy water supply. I suspect that Irish Water is already possibly heading towards insolvency by normal commercial standards brought about by extraordinary borrowings to fund meter installation which will not operate in the next four years, if ever, the reduced charges introduced by Government when under pressure, plus the €100 euro rebate, and most importantly the 48 per cent take-up of payment of water bills to date.
This is an unmitigated disaster and another millstone for an overstretched public to carry. – Yours, etc,
DEREK MacHUGH,
Foxrock,
Dublin 18.