€660m Irish Water bailout a slap in the faceto sick in communities
THERE are times when our tangle twisted Government and their predecessors for that matter somehow manage to outdo themselves in stupidity, hole digging and did I say stupidity?
Just when we’d thought Irish Water was just a bad dream it as transmogrified into a bloody nightmare.
News that €660m is to be poured into this bottomless pit of ineptitude to keep it afloat can only be greeted with openmouthed horror, not unlike the kind expressionist painter Edvard Munch depicted.
The bailout bill was due to be €479m, but what’s €180,000,000 between Government departments used to dealing with billions in bailouts.
The news came as a devastating blow to parents of sick children throughout the country, many of whom have to watch their children suffer due to microscopic hospital budgets and a creaking health service.
These are children who suffer from Cystic Fibrosis, sever spine curvatrue, dental problems etc. Meanwhile anyone who suffers from a heart attack in the South East is at risk of dying in an ambulance on the way to hospital as there is no second cath lab in University Hospital Waterford, despite assurances that one would be provided.
A price has been put on people’s lives. Drugs are not being provided and corners are being cut. A decisive Government needs to act and it will be interesting what this year’s Budget brings.
The wet white elephant in the Dáil has been a shambles from day one. For all the achievements of the Fine Gael and Labour Government Irish Water was a giant turd of a mistake, one which Kenny & Co are still trying to wipe clean from their shiny shoes.
I was never against paying water charges, afterall in life you pay for what you get and don’t expect things to be handed to you for nothing.
The Government buckled in the face of strong opposition and we are now in a limbo kind of water world where people, without the meter ticking so to speak, have returned to using Biblical amounts of water in their homes, no doubt to further annoy the Government in some instances.
Housing Minister Simon Coveney confirmed on Thursday that the state body will get the €660m bailout this year, warning that a decision to suspend water charges in Budget 2017 could have ‘ big consequences’ for funding other services next year. His suggestion was backed by Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe who said funding for Irish Water would compete with other demands such as housing.
Meanwhile Michael Martin & Co are offering free water (which may be upgraded to wine closer to November) for votes, as he promises to suspend water charges indefinitely. A report by a commision on water charges is due in November and there will be no prizes for what it will conclude.
If Enda Kenny is a laughing stock in Europe and at home (well everywhere) over Irish Water, spare a thought for an Englishman who took a photograph of ‘ himself’ which he accidentlaly shared with his Family WhatsApp group, one of whom, in turn, shared the story on social media.
The man shared pictures of his genitals on his family’s WhatsApp group chat. He seemed to have spotted his mistake (of sending image on wrong group chat, perhaps) immediately and looked to cover-up his act. He tried the ‘spam’ method to make sure no one saw the picture. But it was too late. Embarrassing all round.