Sinn Féin in Government - Preparing for Pritatisation in Northern Ireland

August 16, 2017

Third in our series on articles concerning water charges in Northern Ireland, this is an extract from Sean McVeigh's 'Sinn Fein In Government' published in 2012 in Irish Marxist Review. Although we concentrate on the 'Privatising Water' chapter, we strongly recommend readers to read the full article downloaded from the above link.

PFI stands for Private Financial Initiatives, a way of creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital.

Original photo of Stormont by http://www.flickr.com/photos/robertpaulyoung/

Sinn Féin in Government

Privatising Water

Until May 2011 Sinn Fein minister Conor Murphy was in charge of the department of regional development which oversees public transport, roads, and water infrastructure. In preparation for full privatisation NI Water became a government owned company in 2007 (just before the Executive returned from suspension) with the aim of becoming ”self-financing” within three years through the introduction of domestic water charges.

When SF’s Conor Murphy took over the department in May 2007, he allowed NI Water to continue to prepare for the introduction of water charges on domestic properties by installing charging meters in every new house built in Northern Ireland. The fact that water charges have been continually deferred is evidence that both Sinn Fein and the DUP are fully aware that such a move would lead to mass resistance that could threaten the tribal basis of the Stormont regime. Murphy also continued the policy of handing over water infrastructure to be run by private companies under PFI deals. Under a deal signed with the consortium Dalriada Water Ltd in 2006 worth 110 million, the private sector will soon deliver 50.

When the deal was announced by direct rule ministers, the Stormont administration was in suspension and SF opposed the PFI contracts. But when SF got back in government in 2007 the party suddenly found merit in the PFI arrangements and Murphy presided over the transfer of large parts of the water network to the private sector.

The biggest company involved in Dalriada Water is California based multinational Aecom. This company specialises in taking over denationalised public utilities and has gas, oil and water interests around the globe.

When opening a water treatment facility in Antrim constructed with the help of Aecom in 2009, Murphy praised the PFI project saying it would ”deliver an efficient, cost effective and high quality water source”.

Sinn Fein has played a key role in shaping the activities of NI Water because Murphy as DRD minister appointed a number of directors of the company. One of Murphy’s appointments was Lawson McDonald, a director of Global Armour Ltd, which supplies body armour to the SAS and other British forces in Afghanistan. The SF minister also appointed Padraic White who as former Managing Director of the Republic’s Industrial Development Authority was lauded as one of the architects of the Celtic Tiger. White is husband of Fianna Fail senator Mary White. These are the people - put in place by Murphy - who have shaped the direction of NI Water and are moving the company towards full privatisation with the always present danger of the introduction of metered domestic water charges.

Oireachtas Water Committee TDs abandon Ireland's 9.4 Exemption. Have we been served?

August 15, 2017

How could the massive campaign against water charges in Ireland that commanded support from the majority of it’s citizens, where over 57% of households refused to pay water charges and even recognise Irish Water, eventually boil down to twenty politicians bartering away the clear wish of the Irish people? How could they ignore the elephant in the room?

by Enda Craig and James Quigley

It happened in the Oireachtas Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water that started proceedings late 2016 and ended in April 2017. This establishment process was initiated by the government and accepted by the Right2Water leadership and it's five supporting TDs who took part in it. The committee ended with a very iffy final report and an even iffier initial draft one that by the way, prompted the Right2Water TDs to prematurely declare a victory.

Allegiance to party supersedes allegiance to country

It was a clever plot indeed hatched in the murky depths of politician and civil servant land, designed to take the impetus away from the anti water movement and trick us into thinking that they were doing it for our benefit.

The majority of Irish people were supposedly represented on the Committee by maybe ten members including five signed up to Right2Water and five Fianna Fáil members. All of whom at one time or other promised to abolish Irish Water, get rid of water charges and water meters. However, of these ten most had an underlying allegiance to party, self preservation or personal agenda and as a newspaper headline once stated ‘party allegiance trumps allegiance to country’.

Imagine giving carte blanche to these same politiciansto champion the cause of the anti water movement. Pardon us for being cynical but isn’t a politicians' allegiance to party or to their self preservation?

Brendan Ogle, assumed leader of Right2Water Ireland, having said ″we have done our bit, now it is up to the politicians to do theirs″, has come back to haunt us. Mr Ogle indeed did his bit by handing the reins to politicians, and these politician went on to shaft the anti water charges movement.

If these same politicians get their way Irish Water is here to stay, water charges and water meters are on the way, all done in small print and in the interest of the Irish people. Granted, for the time being, charges are couched in an euphemism of ‘only for excessive use’ and metering, well once ‘excessive use’ was accepted then meters are not far behind. Anyway ‘excessive use’ can be worked on and manipulated through time.

Oireachtas draft report ignores the 9.4 Exemption

It's all in the final draft report and the final final report of the Oireachtas committee. What is very alarming about the initial draft report presented by the chairman Mr Pádraig Ó Céidigh in April is the obvious omission of any mention of the River Basin Management Plans or reference to Ireland’s exemption from charging for domestic water as stated in section 9.4 of the Water Framework Directive 2000.

This omission is highly significant giving the fact that Mr Ó Céidigh devoted a whole day to debating what he described as ‘very important matters’ but somehow he did not include them in his report.

What is as significant is the fact that none of the ten supposed anti water charges members on the committee complained about or questioned this omission or lack of protocol. If one believed, as we do, that the River Basin Management Plans are the cornerstone of the Water Framework Directive and that the 9.4 exemption clause is the most important defense Ireland has against the EU Commission insistence on water charges, then surely it should have been in the Oireachtas report and surely any of the five Right2Water members on that committee should have made sure that it was in the draft report.

The Oireachtas committee for all intents and purposes abandoned the Irish Exemption clause that was granted originally in 2000 in paragraph 9.4 of EU Water Framework Directive that states

″4. Member States shall not be in breach of this Directive if they decide in accordance with established practices not to apply the provisions of paragraph 1, second sentence, and for that purpose the relevant provisions of paragraph 2, for a given water-use activity, where this does not compromise the purposes and the achievement of the objectives of this Directive. Member States shall report the reasons for not fully applying paragraph 1, second sentence, in the river basin management plans.″

The hard fought and successful anti water charges campaigns of the ‘70s and 90s’ in Ireland were instrumental in pressurising the Irish government of the day into insisting on the insertion of the 9.4 Exemption clause into the Water Framework Directive. This is why it is known as the 'Irish Exemption'. Now twenty politicians on the Oireachtas committee have for all intents and purposes given it away.

Water charges Northern Ireland : Flushing out the truth

August 15, 2017

This second article on the water charges issue in Northern Ireland comes from a BBC News article 'Water charges: Flushing out the truth' Dec 4, 2014. Good luck with that one. The water charges issue in the Rep. of Ireland mimics it's counterpart in the Six Counties in many ways. One could say we are on a parallel road.

Water charges: Flushing out the truth

Gareth Gordon
BBC NI December 2014

Conor Murphy said he sought change when he was minister

The current minister for regional development has said he is going to stop the practice.

The previous minister for regional development said he wanted to, but the current minister's party, the Ulster Unionists, helped prevent him.

Plenty of others are asking why millions of pounds have been spent since 2007 installing water meters, if the parties agree that we are not going to have water charges?

It is a confusing picture, so let us start at the beginning.

When devolution was restored in 2007, the executive parties put a halt to the process which would have resulted in voters being billed for water, arguing they already paid for it through rates.

But, nevertheless, in accordance with the legislation, meters were still installed at all new properties connected to the public water supply.

A Freedom of Information request by the Irish News newspaper revealed that 35,000 meters have been installed at a cost of £13m. And that cost is rising.

Last week, after the issue was publicised, Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy revealed he intended bringing forward legislation to end the practice.

Water meters were installed at all new properties connected to the public water supply

But he, and his predecessor, Conor Murphy, clash over why it has never been done before.

Mr Murphy said he tried to, but could not get support from other parties with Mr Kennedy's colleague, Sir Reg Empey, being one of those most strongly opposed to the move.

"It simply wasn't enough to stop what the British government had been trying to do in 2006 and 2007, but we had to change direction for NIW (Northern Ireland Water) in order to put the company itself and the department on a surer footing about where it was going," he said.

"There were a range of papers brought to the executive and Reg Empey and others were the most vociferous opponents.

"If Danny Kennedy is proposing now to change that legislation - to stop the roll out of meters into new builds, because that was legislated for prior to us coming into office and couldn't be changed only with legislation - if he's proposing to do that, then I hope he gets full support from the executive, because I wasn't able to achieve that when I was a minister," he told the BBC's The View.

But Mr Kennedy disputes this version of events.

"My predecessor did nothing that I can trace to have the law amended. I think Sinn Féin (is playing) the politics of both sides off the middle and that's very regrettable indeed.

"There is no significant evidence that supports that. There is clear evidence that something like 26,000 meters were installed during his term as minister for regional development. I'm more interested in changing the law as it stands and I'll be proceeding to do that as quickly as possible."

Councillor Gerry Carroll said two messages were being sent out

Campaigners welcome the move, but are still sceptical.

Gerry Carroll of People Before Profit Alliance said: "It's two messages. On the one hand, we're not going to install water charges and water meters but at the same time having water meters being installed.

"So I think it's coming out and saying to the politicians and the DRD what's happening here?"

Danny Kennedy said the current consensus was that water charges should not be applied

Alliance, which supports water charges, accuses Mr Kennedy of "running scared of populism".

Assembly member Stewart Dickson argues it is prudent to have meters in place when, not if, the charges are introduced.

Northern Ireland Water said it was only complying with legislation, adding the meters are "not being read" and "not being used for charging purposes".

But could they, to use a currently fashionable political phrase, be a Trojan horse?

The BBC asked Mr Kennedy if he ruled out water charges forever and he said he supported executive policy.

But could Ulster Unionist party policy change?

Mr Kennedy said: "Well it's a matter that one single party will not be able to effect this change.

"There has to be consensus around the executive table and it's clear what the consensus is - the consensus is, at present, that water charges should not be applied."