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SENIOR GOVERNMENT MINISTERS loathe that the narrative of mandatory hotel quarantine in recent days has turned the discussion into “a Fianna Fáil versus Fine Gael thing”.
While they may not like it, from the beginning of this MHQ (it even has its own acronym now) controversy, it very much was reported as a “Stephen Donnelly versus Simon Coveney” drama.
But it is also one of the most significant butting of heads between the two parties since they entered their coalition government.
It began last week when it was reported that 43 countries – including the US, France, Germany and other EU states – were recommended for inclusion on the list by public health officials.
A week of difficult government discussions concluded with an incorporeal Cabinet meeting last night which has resulted in the United States and a number of EU countries – including France, Belgium and Italy – being added to Ireland’s mandatory hotel quarantine list.
While Donnelly hit out against this “leak” last week, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney was reported to be privately “furious” about the proposals.
Although Department of Health personnel have argued correct procedure was followed, it is understood a perception by other departments that protocol wasn’t adhered to is a source of anger and annoyance. It appears, though, the leak to the media about the additions occurred before letters from the department were received by its counterparts.
While criticisms were reported this week that this was a case of Coveney resisting public health advice, that’s not entirely fair.
There are legal, logistical and diplomatic issues at play here.
No matter what side of the MHQ fence you’re on, it is not just about a quick glance at case numbers in other countries and throwing their names on a red list.
Critics of the system
Some critics of the entire system as a whole also argue there is legitimate discussion about the necessity for mandatory quarantine at all, due to the vast majority of arrivals already having a negative test.
Some in Fine Gael in particular say the system was introduced as “window dressing” and was just pandering to the Opposition who felt international travel was an easy thing to point at.
Two former ministers, Regina Doherty and Charlie Flanagan, who sat around the Cabinet table where the issue of mandatory quarantine was first discussed as a ‘flashpoint’ issue in May 2020, have recently criticised the new regime.
Last night, Doherty tweeted that questions must now be asked about “what we are working towards” and when the travel restrictions for these countries will be lifted.
While these questions will no doubt be asked in the days and weeks ahead, the debate about the introduction of mandatory quarantine as a whole is over.
What we were left with this week was a departmental battle, one that Donnelly was determined to win.
Last night’s announcement that Bangladesh, Belgium, France, Italy, Kenya, Luxembourg, Pakistan, Turkey, the USA, Canada, Armenia, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Curaçao, Maldives, and Ukraine are to be added to the list is being described as a win for the health minister.
One source said this week there appeared to be an element of Fianna Fáil wanting to look tough on Covid, while trying to portray Fine Gael as not being tough enough.
(A Fianna Fáil source told the Irish Independent that “Coveney’s fall from the mountain he climbed up almost caused an earthquake.”)
Compromises
Those that were skeptical of expanding the regime were pointing to some fair “compromises” last night.
Following the controversy surrounding the recommendations to expand the list by the Expert Advisory Group on Travel (EAGT), which is tasked with developing a method of risk assessing other countries, it is understood the group will be “augmented” to include other experts that will look at the “practical aspects” of adding countries to the list.
No doubt this is to ensure that the Department of Foreign Affairs is not blindsided again.
Ensuring that a test on day five must be booked in advance, as well as the HSPC being called on, as a matter of urgency, to advise on exempting people that are vaccinated from hotel quarantine, is also viewed as a success.
Donnelly hasn’t had many wins, to be fair, and even those opposed to the knee-jerk expansion of the list say they do sympathise with the health minister.
However, those sympathies dissipated when the meetings held at senior officials level over the last day or two were described as shambolic.
Practical questions
When the initial fallout happened ahead of last weekend, a number of practical questions were posed to the Department of Health about how an expanded system might work.
Coveney mentioned some of these publicly, as did Leo Varadkar. These centred around hotel capacity. Tifco, the hotel operator signed up for the mandatory hotel quarantine system has around 2,600 hotel rooms, of which around 650 are in use as of now.
It is believed that under the new plan, hotel capacity will double to close to 1,200.
However, there are still concerns that this number might not be enough.
It was pointed out on radio this week by Coveney that there are around 20,000 Irish people living in France alone. Even if a fraction decide to come home to Ireland, where are we going to put them?
One source stated that Ireland’s hotel capacity for the system falls short of what is available in New Zealand, a country advocates for the regime point to regularly as the model Ireland should follow.
There are fears that in a couple of weeks, the headlines could be about the a three month waiting list to get into Ireland, with passengers getting around the system by travelling through London or Belfast and over the border.
Costing millions
The monetary factor here is one that is concerning to those in government circles, who said the expansion of the country list is going to be a “nightmare that will cost millions”.
The cost does not just relate to the staffing of the hotels with private security companies, but also in terms of the hotel stay bills.
It was recently reported this week that the State has agreed to defer the cost of mandatory hotel quarantine for 21 passengers arriving into Ireland from countries that are currently included on the government’s restricted list.
That number is set to rise as more countries are added.
One source stated that members of the Opposition who were clamouring to detain arrivals into Ireland will soon be outraged when it is revealed what the State will be forced to pay out on the system, at a time when the country’s borrowing is at an all-time high. Talks around the extension of business and social welfare supports begin in the summer months.
Other issues raised this week relate to European citizens’ rights, freedom of movement, as well as concerns raised by the Attorney General in a letter to the Department of Health which has been described as a “stinker”.
The AG’s letter posed concerns at how health officials formulated the advice, which was signed off on by the health minister and Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn, and whether it was in line with current legislation.
However, multiple sources say that when officials sat around together this week no detailed solutions to the questions were put forward.
A senior source said we shouldn’t have a portrayal of a situation of the Department of Health versus the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Ultimately, it will be portrayed as one minister – Coveney – being “slapped down”, that it will be viewed as a climb down, they said, but added that the foreign affairs minister was totally in order to raise the issues of concern.
The crux of the talks
The crux off the issue this week was the adding of countries to the list relates to the countries that have “variants of concern”.
The ECDC proposed strengthening all health measures “including those relevant to travel” to respond to emerging variants of concern, which is the reasoning to back up our quarantine system.
The emergence of new variants was a factor when Austria was added to the list last month, but the criteria has since been changed by the government’s Expert Group on Travel to allow countries with high case numbers to be included.
It’s been acknowledged that not all countries carry out genome sequencing of Covid-19 cases, so data about the extent to which certain variants are circulating in each country is lacking.
While the expert group on travel has raised concerns about the ongoing risk presented by variants of concern, and variants of interest, it has also acknowledged the challenge posed by the limited availability of data relating to the locations and spread of these variants.
The Taoiseach denied earlier this week that the Attorney General had raised issues with the legislation underpinning mandatory hotel quarantine itself, but said concerns were raised because the legislation is grounded “in respect of variants of concern”.
The Fianna Fail leader added: “The public health advice has to be grounded within the legislative parameters, that’s the only issue.
“It’s not just in relation to countries with variance concerns, recommendations have been made to add countries.
“The other issues have to do with high incidence, and with levels two and a half times the Irish level.”
Public opinion
While Donnelly will appear to have won this battle in getting more countries added to the list, some sources question whether he will lose out overall.
Public opinion polls last week showed support for government has significantly fallen, peoples’ support for strict measures is wavering, with many TDs and senators telling their party leaders of late that they have “lost the dressing room”.
While Donnelly appears to have public support as regards hotel quarantine for now, will that support fade as vaccinations ramp up, as other countries reopen and as people begin to move around again?
The UK summer could be a bitter pill to swallow.
Irish eyes will be on the UK pubs and restaurants reopening ahead of us, and perhaps more importantly to this issue, pathways to international travel being unveiled.
We have had stories of families returning home being stuck in one room – although to not a huge amount of sympathy. We’ve had dramatic headlines of people who have absconded and of frivolous trips.
With more countries added, other stories will emerge, perhaps ones that will pull on the heartstrings, like the son or daughter returning home after the death of a parent, having to quarantine and miss the funeral.
Will the expansion operate smoothly or will it creak with the increased numbers?
As things move on, as vaccinations ramp up, as the BBC or Channel 4 TV channels report on the grand reopening of society across the water, as we look to our restrictions, our closures, our mandatory hotel quarantine system, will public mood change?
Those are just some forward questioning being posed by some sources.
Donnelly was not for moving this week, and it appears to have paid off for him, for now.
But public opinion is a delicate thing. The health minister needs to be careful when he revels in winning the battle, when he might ultimately lose the war.
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All this will show that we don’t need politicians to run anything…
Keep enda in power
I’m flabbergasted hahahaha
What will be will be, I would rather wait until Thursday to see the outcome of the Dial vote. We saw enough of these spurious media reports and phoney polls in the build up to the general election.
yep, irish times, the independent,t he herald, rte and other various radio stations have become redundent, spin and yarn covered as opinion pieces have been outtted as pure propaganda
inform yourselves, minus the usual hacks
spelling bad I know.
Garbage dot com
@Dot Com. I completely agree. The information is now at peoples fingertips… literally. I was watching the American presidential caucus in Ohio and there was a Sanders supporter having a discussion with a Clinton supporter. The Sanders supporter was a girl in her 20s and the Clinton supporter was a woman in her 50s. The Sanders supporter actually knew what she was talking about. She had a handle on the policy issues she was talking about. The Clinton supporter was just kept repeating the platitudes you hear on CNN and read in the New York Times. The gap in actual knowledge was huge. Say what you want about the younger generation (I’m not one of them anymore) and social media/internet. But from now on voters will understand who and what they are voting for. Bad news for The Fine Gael/Fianna Fail/Irish Indo/Irish Times quango that has been running things their way for too long.
Go into bed with Fianna Fail Enda. Allow the Dail to vote in a Taoiseach. And allow the left to define itself properly. This may have been a frustrating election but equally I think it is a sign of better things to come.
Hoorah hoorah, the Emperor has discovered someones taken his robe ! Maybe we’ll get some serious parliamentary reform meantime . . .
A government represents a divided people.. Show them we are not.. vote enda
your gov fg lab have done all they could to divide the nation, or did you think it went un noticed?
@dot com, the game is up ! you need to re think your stratagey nobody buys the bs anymore
@dot com apologies, my bad
it would be nice if we could elect the taoiseach in situations like this, rather than the horse trading that is going on. we know the makeup of the dail tds, so we should be able to independently vote for a taoiseach, and get that individual to allocate the ministries based on competencies and distribution of votes. it would be better for all of we could reform in situations like this for the sake of the country rather than an unstable interregnum, or potential continuous repeats of the election.
Might as well say give joan the job both as incompent liers
He probally will increase the people running the country from foure to six that means 4new people as Poor Joan and Brendan are gone that will be Endas reforn
A little poem inspired by Frank Sinatra from The Caretaker, Enda Kenny.
And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My sheep, I’ll say it clear,
I’ll state my case, of which I think I’m certain.
I’ve leave a job with my account full.
I’ve traveled abroad on every highway;
And more, much more than this,
I did it Germany’s way.
Regrets, I’ve had a lot;
But then again, too many to mention.
I did what Angie told me to do
And saw it through without a water exemption.
She planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
And more, much more than this,
I did it her way.
Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate the poor up and spat them out.
I faced it all, drove Ireland into a wall,
And did it Germany’s way.
I’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried.
I’ve had my fill; my share of the coffers.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.
To think I did all that;
And may I say – not in a shy way,
“Oh no, oh no not me,
I did it Germany’s way”.
For what is a teacher, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things Germany truly feels;
And not the words of I, Enda, who kneels.
The record shows the poor took the blows -
And I did it Germany’s way!
Yes, it was Germany’s way.
It’s what happened in Spain now here and could happen In America if trump gets into power
Hope you are ok Hugh.
Bet this is like when Robbie left Take That for Hugh….
boo hoo, poor hugh
cue a week of how great enda was.
remember the troika? that’s what your party took all the credit for, remember taking medical cards off sick kids? that’s what your party actually did, decided all by themselves
take your time hugh I’m sure you will find something positive to say about your crowd, don’t mean I will believe it!
Convinced Hugh is Labour. Seems to be always wearing red socks and a red tie on the telly.
should have said just like enda told the women of Ireland “get the boat”
Mourning* peader
Good mourning Proctor
Its funny how now that Fine Gael has been served, I actually like Hugh now. He’s become more of a Lex Luther type villain. You can’t take him very seriously but he’s good for a laugh.
apparently he is the voice of the internet generation, at least on any of claire byrne’s shows.
Can anyone who’s not a FG/Labour hack argue credibly that he deserves to be re-elected?
Personally, I’m delighted. Shoud have listened to the protesters enda…..
Ask the people of Mayo. He somehow managed to top the poll there. That’s what happens when you let idiots have votes. This democracy lark is over-rated if you ask me
that has to be my favorite headlines
Force once Beano I agree with you
I for one want a referendum on building an incinerator in tipperary
Exactly Beano , just back from a break down Edna’s way and signs all over Westport about Mayo been the forgotten county and they go and vote him back in , absolute donkies
I doubt he’s bothered.
As they say a lion doesn’t concern himself with the opinions of sheep.
or sheeple :)
A lion Drew? Don’t you mean a jackal?
Yeah Mayo have at long last an All Ireland. All Ireland Gobs×%÷@s
Oh yeah and let the other half vote for ff what a stupid comment beano enda Kenny did nothing for mayo belive me I know but he couldn’t he wasn’t allowed what did the the tullamore clown do build a stadium and repair a few roads.. People think the country going change with a new leader idiots..
heard topaz HR Dept. are having a “meeting”
Biffo and Enda, Jesus wept
can you imagine the pitch “two men out standing in their field”
Topaz was recently sold. Are u sure it wasn’t siteserv.
dermo, wtf?
You’re a little out of touch with the news, Topaz was sold a couple of months ago.
topaz was sold?, were the main depots for importing oil to this country also sold?
oh do tell….
Redacted still has control over the the JFT at the Dublin port were the fuel is off loaded,Also still in control of the aviation end of things. The boys in topaz are still there but working under the new company name just a re arrangement.
so a dob company sells the juice to air lingus? and ryan air? some man for one man?, eh enda and all the ff/ fg faithful, never mind the juice in all the cop cars, small change. its a wonder what we did before we met our tax exile foreign billionaire, be nice to see nama do a job on him….as they should
A complete buffoon of a leader couldn’t string two sentences together without a script – A yes man to Merkel.
The really funny thing about this is the fool has not got the first clue why people are not happy with him. But i suppose that goes hand in hand with being a deluded pathological liar, and deaf to boot.
Enda / you were warned but didn’t listen. Toddle along now – you will not be missed in the slightest.
10s of 1000s protest and Enda and the Traitor party ignored us. First they laugh at you……
I wouldn’t trust him with the TV remote
you’d end up with the radio on !
Woo hoo! *cough I mean… Thanks for all you did
I just want to be at the Aras gate as he comes out! I have one or two fingers that have been twitching to be used in the appropriate fashion.
how long before they take the car and driver off him?
I’m not political, but I think History will be favourable to him.
Unlike Cowan, Ahern and to a lesser extent Bruton.
history is written by the victors. chose who you want to believe
alas it is not history yet for the mass emigrated, homeless, and yet to be properly employed
…just a little reminder of ff/fg policies
Stop playing cod will yeah
@EmmaQ@gmail.com: Only if self-immolation is involved!
If we demonise all of our former Taoiseach, to the point that when they retire they won’t be even able to go to their local shop for a bottle of milk in the morning .
We are only going to get complete fools in the running for the job.
Not So Smug Now Kenny, Your Stupidity & Arrogance With Your Snide Remarks, You Have A Problem, You Are Unwanted, You Are A Total Mess & You Failed The People Of Éire
Aww boo hoo dont let the door hit you on the way out ye see you next tuesday….
If you’re that obsessed with red thumbs maybe you should stop referring to people as “vermin” just because they support a political party that you disagree with. Otherwise just suck it up and move on with your life
Hugh does this mean you have to resign as you can no longer report on your West Brit Tory Traitor Idol Enda Von Merkel….
Fail Gael, he’s hardly a tory who takes orders from merkel as well. Idiot
Get a job you vermin
Enda gets job as a Caretaker!
stop, he’d loose the keys!
The Frau Furher will not be pleased. Heil Merkel.
Oh but she will when Enda goes to Europe to take up a new role as a eurocrat. Sure they’ve been making cow eyes at each other for a seriously long time.
Now looking so smug now are ye cabbage
This must seems like an eon ago now for “Great Leader” Kenny:
http://www.thejournal.ie/enda-kenny-five-more-years-2324948-Sep2015/
Ah…where’s my hankie? …anyway next
How can we ensure he is paid only a caretaker’s wage?
When you get past Diamuid’s election poster bit…some reasons why Enda and FG have done us no favours…
https://www.facebook.com/Lukemingflanagan/videos/949691641774819/
Good summary!
as ever al very informative.
Good.
So Herr Enda will be a caretaker Taoiseach ?? Well then he should only be paid a caretakers wage, will is a dam sight less than what he currently gets. The sooner the better this traitor is gone for good. Along with his traitor sell out buddies.
You must be devastated Hugh.
40 years living off the fat of the public purse.
39 of them as a complete political irrelevant.
Time to call it a day.
For the sake of the country.
You’d win Premier Douche Nozzle in a nanosecond Edna
This just made Monday an awful lot easier.
there is one thing that Kenny and Burton have to learn from all this is that you can cod some of the people some of the time but you cannot cod all the people all the time. Its the likes of them that get the irish people laughed at and called bogmen
no S#*T Sherlock
Make way for Martin
Another see you next tuesday like anyone in that part and the blueshirts…
Election coming this way soon brought to you by the vermin of FG/FF…..
You have a lot of anger issues Fail Gael. Calm down before you have a seizure.
Lol, Fail Gael. Can’t you just accept the fact that the majority of people in Ireland support either FF or FG
MM you are wrong again. Irish times result hub has FG at 25.52% FF at 24.35%. Just short of half.
Being fair Fail Gael, there are only ninety four of those who are to blame, it was the rest of the Republic of Ireland whom voted the lack of government.
No. 49% of those who bothered to vote gave them a first preference.. so minority…
“Dick Spring”. What will it take to elect the man with such a stellar name?
He’d make a good Ceann Comhairle (ex-schoolteacher). How on earth did he lead the country for so long?
@Dave Murray: Oh please, Dave, no. Not Bellenda as Ceann Comhairle!
At least he is honest te he he he
If there is any truth to the ” recovery” idea, Enda would have had a negative affect on that, down to his lack of communication skills…
Take care Enda.
Is the penny beginning to drop very slowly for Enda ?
Enda Kenny – Not a penny!
Why are Fine Gael so surprised by the election outcome ? They have NEVER,EVER, been re-elected by the Irish people. Not once in their entire history have they been re-elected. Ninety years !
They always fail to grasp that we are NOT Tories. They should now sue their Focus groups – a waste of space…
Hugh will be bringing out the sackcloth and ashes to go into mourning.
Enda might Aswell stay in. there is no one else to run government I grew up around enda Kenny the day he fot into power he changed he was broken. It’s not him who needs changing its his advisor’s
His Advisors ! When a nan surrounds himself with Yes men & cannot make a decision himself – He is an idiot & a fool. His ‘advisors’ knew nothing of the feeling on the ground – They spent too much time in their Ivory Tower. Says a lot for the other FG TDs who allowed Endas advisors to run the show – The Wonderly Wagon Show.
FG and labour need to go into opposition for the next 5 years Let the other parties have a go at government and making difficult decisions
Enda Kenny does nothing because he can’t and if he does he’ll be worse off. you are deluded if you think our country will be better off by replacing him.. The next one will have the same advisors as him..
ben, I’d actually prefer a turnip (a real one) in charge. It would do a better job and would debate better. It even has several uses unlike our great leader.
The people on the ground vote as the always do who cares they all live by the European union making 1916 irrelevant unfortunately
Of course a turnip would be better pay less but we change one turnip for another why bother if we keep one turnip in power for ever that’s what the European union wants so let’s do that
you deserve each other… difficult decisions?… heat or food? you decide.
And the smartness of his advisors blame him..
Dumb dumb the advisors are their before he gets their
Best news i heard today. Yippiiiiiii.
The Taoiseach shows what a patriot he is and how committed he is to the people of Ireland when he is willing to stay on as Taoiseach and with him the whole government in a caretaker capacity it wouldnt be FF for sure, for they ran from cabinet like rats leaving a sinking ship at the time of the crash. Have you all forgotten that. Great Thanks is due to an Taoiseach Enda Kenny and his cabinet of FG and Lab ministers who are willing to serve the prople yet again if they are asked to do so by the President on Thursday. Some few in the comments here mentionef water charges and these charges or rather the complaints about them make my blood boil. Why should tax payers who are billed for the water they use by private water schemes (of which there are many round the country) pay a second time for their water through the tax system….how dare you people who dont want to pay your water bills expect others in the country to pay twice for water just because you want it paid for through taxation…shame on you who work at creating a two tier Ireland where some have to pay for their metered water while others get it free. Shame on you who want to take the 100 Euro water grant away from pensioners and disabled people who are dependent on private water schemes and who have to pay their water bills each year regardles of whether you elite Irish Water customers get your bills quashed or not…shame on you…no matter how you dress it up for those of ud who are on private water schemes the FG Lab government was a whole lot fairer than what FF and the Independents will propose…give me back the FG Lab government any day.
HAHAHAHAHAA pure comedy gold, thanks Mary, I was having a bad day till I read your comment!
I can’t tell if this is sarcasm or not.. The internet has broke me.
Its not comedy its the sad truth…michael Martins first comments about water charges was to say he would do away with the water grant…now while this may be a source of comedy to you it is not a source of comedy to the pensioners and disabled people who will have to pay their water bills this year out of their pensions and disability allowance without the aid of the water grant which means FF has already decided they will be 100 Euro worse off before tge end of the year…how is that comedy ???
I suggest they don’t pay the water bills then…, as to those who are on group water schemes, it is failure in policy that has let them down, not the upstanding citizens who fight to stop the privatisation of an essential natural resource.
Hey Mary….blame your local TD’s for not fighting for group schemes. But just in case you didn’t know…since 1997 grants have been paid to water schemes to ease the cost…….it’s just FG took away the grants recently to pay for the ‘Conservation Grant’.
@Mary Walshe: Oh, Mary, I had no idea that our beloved Taoiseach was such a patriotic soul. I’ve been so wrong about him all this time. How could I have been so seriously misled? Oh, Enda, I’m so sorry. I must thank you for all that you have done for this country and it’s people. I’ve been such a blind fool. Oh, Enda, thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!
Obviously you dont know much about group water schemes because if you refuse to pay you get your water cut off…we cant live without water so we have to pay…as to those you call upstanding citezens I think they sre scroungers who expect everything for nothing and it is that sort of thinking thst brought the Troika and the IMF into Ireland in the not so distant past hurting the most vulnerable in tge ciuntry more than it did the better off…upstanding my hat they are scroungers leading us back into the arms of tge Troika and the IMF.
So you agree with the privatisation of water?
I received my water grant this year while the Fine Garl and Lab gov were in office I never got a red scent while the FF Gov were in office and whats more my water bill was in 4 didgit figures while an upgrade was being done while FF and the Greens were in power, it was supposed to be gramt aided but every household here had to pay 4 diget bills, and despite the fact thst I am wheelchair bound and on disability allowance I did not receive one cent of grant or aid but had to pay up or be dis- connected … I had to sacrifice a lot to borrow and pay that money but paid it was and I am still paying it back so dont tell me sbout all FF were giving in grants because I got nothing from them and my greatest fear is that they get into power and bring the country to ruin again for the fourth time in FF’s history
I am already part of a privatised scheme or if you want to call it a group water scheme as to privatisation it might not be a bad thing in thr long run I really dont know for sure but look at our electricity and how privatization brought down the costs the same with our phoneline…one thing I do know for sure is that making the co councils answerable for the water system is going to cause mayhem…they were no help to us when we had problems on our water scheme and when the people booted out the chairman from the floor at a general meeting the same chairman that insulted members of the council who then refused to come to our meetings so the vouncil washed its hands of us and though he was voted out of office by tge members this same chairman came back at the next meeting to say he and his team were the best people to man the committee and he hired protection to keep those who would vote agsinst him from attending the meeting…the co council wouldnt get involved and there was war on our scheme for a while…I tell you this story of my experience here of being psrt of s gtoup water scheme so you can see that these schemes are open to corruption…at present we have a great vimmittee but for years we had corruption and thr vo council werent sble to hanfle it or help us… you really do need a body like Irish water who are in charge and can be aproached about things that go wrong and can be held accountable…there can be ways devised to ensure Irish Water is not privatised and sold off to the highest bidder if yhst is what people are so worried about, that is not such a difficult thing to do but not paying bills and getting it paid for out of an already overstrained tax system which doesnt cater for everyone in the country is not the way to go its only setting the stage for another Troika and IMF visit and take over.
The point is that the last government refused point blank to give us a referendum on the non-privatisation issue, had they done so, and the referendum passed, IW would have had a much higher compliance rate. Your own opinion on privatisation is in the minority, many that did pay their bills do not want to see it happen and everyone that didn’t pay do not want to see it happen. I’ll say it again, your unfortunate situation regarding paying for group water scheme is the fault of consecutive governments’ lack of policy, including the last one. I agree that people in your situation deserve the same support as everyone else, but a bloated, crony-filled quango, that needs massive financial support from the state, who spends more on billing than it takes in, is not the way to do it.
Im looking forward to the next General election when FF and the independents will be decimated and FG and Labour will be broght back in vast numbers…such is the nature of our modern volatile Irish electorate …wont it be such fun :)
That won’t happen, the demographic is changing rapidly, exit polls show only 18% still vote for parties out of loyalty. The 40% women candidates demanded by the gender quota rules, coupled with a much more politicized and well educated youth voter, means that civil war politics is coming to an end in Ireland.
The percentages in these polls have been known to have got it wrong before and an angry volatile Irish electorate can throw all polls into disarray when it has a mind to…we shall see :)
So vote enda!
Or ever again, anyone who wants him as Taoiseach will never be re-elected as an independent again.
Be glad to see him go
have your say