Delaying and stalling the democratic process
Although Fine Gael portrays itself as reasonable and willing negotiators , in reality, they have done everything in their power to railroad water charges and metering. They have prolonged the process and stalled what should have been an inevitable democratic Dáil vote.
For the past number of years Fine Gael and Labour Party coalition spent billions of Euro on Irish Water Ltd. Along with some willing Independents and the Green Party, they threatened, cajoled, misinformed, even battered young and old alike in order to steamroll what could be described as an EU IMF austerity package. They used big guns from the European Commission, the Attorney General, the Civil Service and media to misinform and threaten European sanctions.
Since last year's general election after assuming office the minority Fine Gael government have used the 'Agreement for Government, with Fianna Fáil and the latter's reluctance to trigger an early election, to delay a Dáil vote. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil agreed the settingup of an 'Expert Water Commission' and the 'Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future Funding of Domestic Water'. A process which has taken over a year to get this far. Meanwhile Irish Water Ltd is getting more and more entrenched and the Government and European Commission are circling the wagons.
Fine Gael miscalculated mood of people and Fianna Fáil's trust must be earned
However, Fine Gael did not bank on a combination of unforeseen events like; 1) Eurostat refusing to allow Irish Water Ltd to go off Government books, 2) the damning report from the Expert Water Commission, 3) Fianna Fáil sticking to it's election promises, ( well so far) and 4) the many important facts and figures that managed to trickle out of what Fine Gael thought were sure things such as Eurostat, The Expert Water Commission and even the much politically loaded Joint Committee on Future Funding of Domestic Water itself. Facts and figures that contradicted what the Government and officials were telling the Irish people.
Briefly some of these were 1) Irish Water Ltd could not exist off Government books, 2) Irish Water borrowing was more expensive than Government borrowing, 3) there is a derogation, a 9.4 exemption in the Water Framework Directive which allows Ireland to opt out of domestic charging, 4) there are other ways to implement and fulfill the WFD objectives other than itemised billing, charging and metering, 5) the Irish do not use excessive amounts of water, 6) over 60% of treated water wastage comes from the public mains system, 7) Individual metering is not used in Scotland and N. Ireland and Scottish Water emphasised that individual metering is not needed to detect excessive use.
However, the most important fact of all, so important that the Expert Commission referred to several times in it’s report and reiterated by the Public Water Forum, is the fact that the Irish people have no ‘Trust’ in Government and it's water policy.
‘Trust’ and willingness of people are necessaryto make anything work but it is this 'Trust' that Fine Gael, the Labour Party and the Green Party have lost. It is this notion of ‘Trust’ that Fianna Fáil would do well to heed especially given that it's party rose from the ashes through their election manifesto that promised to abolish water charges, metering and Irish Water.
Sisyphus relentless struggle
The mammoth struggle of Irish citizens against Government, EU and IMF bulldozing austerity measures through, brings to mind the story of Sisyphus in the underworld who was punished by Zeus for deceitfulness, craftiness and self-aggrandisement, to endlessly push a boulder up a hill only for it to fall back down.
Only in this case it is the Irish people being punished for Government’s endless deceit again and again.
