Government weathers storms but can’t seem to build a better future
SO lads, did we all survive Storm Kathleen? What a way to welcome in April, more days of endless torrential rain topped off by a hurricane.
At least the freezing cold weather looks like it’s about to end, but given the way things are going now, we’ll probably flip straight into drought conditions.
It’s mad how Ireland, a giant, soggy sponge for 10 months of the year, can run out of drinking water after a few warm weeks, but then again, forward planning has never really been our strong point.
You can guarantee that Irish Water will be talking about restrictions and hosepipe bans just as soon as summer arrives, despite the fact that it’s basically rained solid for six months and we’re not very far away from our cattle in the fields developing fins and gills.
You look at basic services like water and you have to remind yourself that we are, apparently, one of the richest countries in the world.
But then we just don’t spend on big public projects like most other developed countries, we’re always holding back, always fearful of a rainy day. Or maybe we are just naturally miserly and as long as the place isn’t actually falling apart, why would we be spending cash?
Sure, we could build a few new reservoirs, maybe fix up the roads (once you’re outside Dublin or off the motorway in Ireland, you’d need a Massey Ferguson to get around). But who’s going to pay for that?
No, far better that we mind every penny like we’re expecting the roof to fall in, and sure if our roads and streets
are in rag order, we should be used to it at this stage and quit complaining.
The same with housing. We’re in a decadeslong crisis but the Government steadfastly refuses to commit to the kind of social housing programme we know we need – again, they don’t want to spend (our) money.
Still, maybe it’s for the best.
When you can’t build a national children’s hospital in less than 30 years and with a budget of $2.24billion, maybe the last thing we want any Irish Government doing is actually building stuff.