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THE FIRST MEETING of the water committee got off to a timid start this afternoon.
The committee, which has been tasked with coming up with a solution on how to pay for water charges, has three months before it must present its suggestions to the Dáil.
Today it held its first meeting – but was in private session for over an hour and a half, in public session for 30 minutes, which is unusual.
Members of the water committee include Paul Murphy, Willie O’Dea and Kate O’Connell. Committee chairperson Pádraig Ó Céidigh attempted to set a calm and cordial tone to the meeting and generously thanked members for their cooperation this afternoon.
It then had a 20-minute long statement from Kevin Duffy, chair of the water report commission of their findings, and then ended abruptly – meaning no questions from the members of the committee were asked, which is also very unusual.
In his address, Kevin Duffy set the context for the committee.
He said that domestic water pricing is typically marked against the following issues:
He also reiterated a number of points made in the report that addressed some of the more contentious issues around Irish Water:
The meeting was adjourned and they will meet again in early January 2017.
Background
Kevin Duffy was made the chair of the Expert Commission on Water Charges in July of this year after the previous chair, Joe O’Toole, said that he paid water charges and in that way supported them.
The commission were to look into the water charges debate and to make recommendations. In a report published by the commission last month, it was recommended that the State should pay the bill for the normal usage of water by households and that anything in excess of that should be paid for by the consumer.
The report states that a distinction must be made between “a right to water for normal domestic and personal purposes and wasteful usage.”
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Irish water are dead in the water due to massive non payment..WE PAY FOR WATER ALREADY..The millions squandered on the IW fiasco could of been used for positive investments for everyone, HSE and the homeless…
@Eamonn Boylan:
Not the millions the billions. By the time Irish water is wound up it will have cost the taxpayer close to 2 billion.In terms of wasted money the money spent on e-voting machines is nothing in comparison.
@Eamonn Boylan: This Closed Meeting must be “Market Sensitive”,just like NAMA selling the Country to the US .
I see ‘Operation Ignore the will of the people’ continues unabated.
99 out of the 158 TDs elected to the Dail included pledges to scrap water charges and abolish Irish Water as part of their manifesto. We either live in a democracy or we do not. Make no mistake about it, it is solely Fianna Fails responsibility at this stage that it has not happened. They pledged it in their manifesto and could have make it the de facto precondition of them propping up fine gael.
2 Billion spent on Irish water so far, which could have been spent in its entirety on our water infrastructure. How many more millions will be wasted on a rejected billing system while we face multiple national emergencies?
Yes your last point is excellent. The associated overheads and monies customers pay will nit alll be uswd for water. Its meters and privatisation or no meters and general taxation. No half arsed middle ground.
There was no referendum on water and TDs don’t run on one issue. I voted for a candidate who was anti water charges but that had nothing to do with the reason I voted for them. It wasn’t even in my top 5 list of priorities when considering who to vote for.
@nialls: “There was no referendum on water and TDs don’t run on one issue.”
And how do you think the referendum would turn out nialls?
Oh, and I think you’ve just excused every TD who ever reneged on an election pledge with your ‘TDs don’t run on one issue’ statement.
There was a 3 hour dail debate and it was guillotined. A bad start. Just gwt rid of billing – the debt and meters will be run down over time. No other option now.
And trying to lump Ervia pension deficit into a revenue stream I suspect.
@For Connolly:
These 99 TDs have to now deliver; otherwise lets have a fresh election.
If some are being excused of paying the charge, then I want mine back.
The sensible long term sustainable solution is roof water collected and stored on the premises for all non-potable uses.
Where did the 20 billion go since they started taxing us in 1997 motor tax vat total 7%.
@Bobby Phelan:
Services.
And when was the VAT increase?
@Bobby Phelan: Open and transparent government in action, No questions and no notes.
@Gagsy 99: gagsy you will just have to research for your self but I am right.
There was no vat increase when an allocation was made from vat to water services.
Not surprised no questions been asked, it might be hard to answer to the waste of 2 billion of the people’s money!
1. A constitutional amendment that guarantees that Irjsh water will never be privately owned
2. Water paid for through general taxation.
3. No double charging.
4. Full and absolute abolition of Irjsh Water and Ervia and criminal proceedings brought to recover the money stolen by this illegal quango.
5. While we’re at it – criminal charges against people deemed guilty of bribery according to the Moriarty tribunal.
@mursim: Just shows with the red thumbs that some people don’t agree with you Mursim. By disagreeing with you it must mean they agree with
1 privatizing our water.
2 Paying for water on the double.
3 criminals running the country
4 quangos and corruption.
Well I can tell them this we are not going back to the old ways of doing things ff/fg way. People have woken up to rip off Ireland and we will be watching them very closely over the next few months.
Meters don’t stop people wasting water. I wish they would stop bandying this about. Those meters are nothing to do with conservation.
I wonder if that was the €5 000 000 consultancy advice that this shambles of a company wasted in the past few months.
Cost of billing system and overstaffing as a result.
Bringing the monster that is IW back from the dead is now impossible how ever hard fg try…. The people have spoken. Let it go Ends..
The water charging committee meeting is obviously more important than the homeless crisis committee meeting. Is there even such a thing as a homeless crisis committee?
€2 Billion ???????
Billions wasted and they electorate ignored yet most of them would be reelected tomorrow. What has to happen before we rid ourselves of ff/fg
Private meeting,? bunch of gutless toads in the septic pond that is Dail Eireann ,
Last year it was the banking panto now we have the water panto. All that’s missing are the smug red Tories. Instead we have the FG/FF coalition running this puppet show. No apologies this time around only a rigged panel who have already make there decision but would never turn down extra expences. When you see cowen and Willie involved, this confirms its a setup. Why wait till March just leak the results now or do FF really believe people will have forgotton how the got back into government.
Paying people back…is that the €2 billion of our money that Enda and Co spent setting up Irish Water?
Terrible waste of money,politicians are elected to govern the country,not their buddies.do the job,or stand down.
they ran out of time but the going to invite him back right?
Trickle Trickle ….
Trickle Trickle Uncle Phil
Fill my kettle can I Still
Of fine water pissing Down
Bursting banks to flood the Town
Trickle Trickle Uncle Phil
We promise not a drop to Spill
When making coffee or a Cuppa
Brendan Ogle thinks your a Muppa
Trickle Trickle in a Jar
Uncle Phil you went too far
Accusing us of being polluted
Water never made us flutered
Simon Coveney clears his throat
With plenty water to float his Boat
Enjoying the sun on open Sea
While Paddy has to pay to Pee
Trickle Trickle hear the Hiss
Forty percent not hard to Miss
1 million meters in the ground
But still not one leak can be found
Trickle Trickle Motor Tax
Taken for to fund the Jax
Paying once is very Slick
But paying twice takes the Mick
-NK62F
Trickle Trickle water Grant
Greasing palms to stop the Rant
Outstanding bills, pay you Must
Took the soup, get a Crust
@Thomas O’Briain, you were nearly there with your nonsense of a story, “you know what he pays in taxes” @For Connolly well spotted! :-)
@Neuville -Kepler 62F EXCELLENT STUFF! :-)
We need to make clear what is meant by wasteful usage. A friend of mine, who, surprisingly, or so I thought at the time, took part in a water protest in Cork, has four USVs, a swimming pool and several fountains on his property. His home has six bedrooms, all en-suite, each complete with shower and bath. He has a jacuzzi in the rear garden and a plunge pool. His water usage, which he monitors carefully, is circa 10 X the average household. He, as he sees it, does not ‘waste’ water, he just uses a lot of it. If we have no water charges, he and others like him will continue to be subsidised by the less well-off. Nothing is really free! Services for which there is no direct charge still have to be paid for. When the cost is met from public funds, the wealthy or other high consumers are in effect subsidised by everyone else. TDs and others who aspire to become wealthy want services to be at public expense with a view to personal, long-term, benefit. They care not a whit about the poor and disadvantaged.
@Tomás Ó Briain:
He wasn’t the man with two pints by any chance?..and if “your friend”has four suv s..hes paid motor tax by 4..and by that home /lifestyle description he’s done well and is paying a good lump of tax /lpt..so his water is well covered by his taxes.
The implication of having four SUVs is that they’re washed every week, at least once each, on site by his ‘man’ so there is significant water consumption, subsidised by his one car or pedestrian neighbours. He can afford to pay for water. He doesn’t want to. If the antis succeed, he’ll be delighted, another freebie at the expense of the less well off, courtesy of the stupid. There are no free lunches unless you’re a cute hoor who can get the less well off to pay for you.
@Tomás Ó Briain: Did you miss the bit where Kieran explained to you how he has already paif=d for that water?
66% of the motor tax he has paid on those SUVs is earmarked for water.
His tax contribution entities him to use water just like anyone else. However, his fortunate and unusual circumstances require far in excess of the usual amount of water. Secondly, being well-heeled, he pays the least possible proportion of tax that he can.
@Tomás Ó Briain: Really, you’ve seen his tax returns as well as taking note of his water cosumption?
@For Connolly: I think Tomas was his “man”.
Thomas Walter Mitty O’Brain
The standing charge will be (partly) based on property values?!
If the clowns listened to the sensable public in first place it would of saving 2 billion of pure and utter waste of tax payers money that people are suffering to pay because of greedy idiot bankers in lreland and europe they don’t even deserve a soft name calling of greedy idiots financial criminals more like it
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