It's all in the way you say it

Kevin Duffy new chairman Irish Water Commission appointed by Simon Coveney, July 7, 2016 following controversial resignation of Joe O'Toole

"A safe pair of hands and more importantly a safe pair of lips" RTE's description of the news that Minister Simon Coveney appointed Kevin Duffy as the new chairman of the Commission on Domestic Water Services on July 7, 2016. This followed the controversial resignation of the former chairman Joe O'Toole on Wednesday..

Asked were people were happy with this appointment, RTE's reporter Martina Fitzgerald (see video below), ironically hit the nail on the head when she said

"Well, it depends what view one takes of the Commission. For those who are opposed to it's very existence, it really makes very little difference who is chairing it But for those who are keeping an open on the issue he ticks a lot of boxes."

The former chairman of the Labour Court Kevin Duffy is to be appointed as the Chairman of the Expert Commission on Water Charges.

Subtle nuances in RTE reporting

On the one hand we have the 'hardliners', opposed to it's very existence and on the other there are the 'open' reasonable people who Ms Fitzgerald thought would see all the positive attributes that Mr Duffy possesses. Ms Fitzgerald continued to list Mr Duffy's attributes.

RTE News July 7, 2016

The Irish Mirror less subjective view

The Irish Mirror, July 7, quoted the Minister Simon Coveney as describing Mr Duffy's positive attributes as "He has a distinguished track record of public service and will bring to the commission’s work a wealth of experience in addressing complex, intractable issues.”

Responding to the appointment, Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Paul Murphy said they had no faith in the commission. "Joe O’Toole gave the game away from the government’s perspective.

Fine Gael are determined to try to re-introduce water charges – they are seeking a pre-determined outcome from the Commission to try to achieve that. They want to then present this as the conclusion of an ‘expert’ panel.

However, O’Toole’s ‘straight talking’ let the cat out of the bag and now the Commission has no credibility in the eyes of the public because they know it’s a set-up."

Reference: www.merrianstreet.ie, Irish Government New Services for details.