Citizens Of Water World

In Blog, Politicsby Oireachtas Retort23 Comments

Photo by Erin Stevenson O'Connor.

Photo by Erin Stevenson O’Connor.

 

Oireachtas Retort takes a look at the people employed to sell you your own water. Remember Citizens, ‘Water Is Free. I Pay For My Water’.

Back in January, three years after the Troika’s arrival, the Irish media collectively decided to start caring about water. To their credit, they waited for legislation to pass before asking any awkward questions.

Two weeks earlier, on the day Irish Water became law, the entire opposition walked out of the Dáil. Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan crossed the house with a glass of “glorified piss”, a new semi-state company was created but none of it was mentioned on RTÉ’s main evening news.

One detail to later emerge though, was not only had Irish Water spent fifty million on private-sector consultants in 2013. They were also hiring them.

The Irish Times reported:

Irish Water’s head of asset management Jerry Grant was the managing director of RPS (Ireland South) until August 2012. Elizabeth Arnett was head of project communications at the same firm until December 2012. She is now head of communications and corporate services in Irish Water.

RPS is a major international consultant firm that advises on energy and other major infrastructure projects.

Last night Irish Water said Mr Grant resigned from RPS in August 2012 and established his own consultancy as a water services specialist.

It said that he was doing work for the Irish Water programme (the project that was put in place to set up Irish Water) and later competed for his current position in April 2013.

The statement said Ms Arnett resigned her position in RPS in December 2012 and then joined the Irish Water programme as an employee of Bord Gáis Éireann.

Spin doctor Arnett popped up again this week when Gavin Sheridan of thestory obtained documents from the public relations department.

She is employed to sell you your own water. Pay particular attention to the Newspeak of the first slide:

Comments

  1. Well haven’t they done well!! Thank God for a fine university system that turns out these excellent communications and PR graduates, how could we survive without them helping to “get the message out there”. Can I be reincarnated as a member of the Irish Middle class please?

  2. It baffles me how Irish Water could turn into such a shitfest so quickly, especially as it is such a ‘lightning rod’ issue. From over use of consultants to general misspending of vast sums of money, it is a manifestation of the mindset and attitude of civil service and semi-state employees.
    It’s particularly annoying as I believe there should be some cost for using and disposing of water, it sickens me that a vast chunk of it will be spend on idiocy.

    1. Water charges have been paid for out of our taxes for several decades now. We already pay for it, and taxes will certainly not be reduced in return. If the payments really were designed to encourage conservation, I’d consider wavering my consitutional right to not be coerced into a questionable contract. But with a 40% leakage rate, don’t think conservation is even on the list of priorities, let alone top of it…..

  3. What the experts are not saying is that we have a monstrosity of water wastage already in the piping system. Which has NOT been fixed. And ALL rainwater flow is directed to our water purification systems which is 2 times more less efficient than the fantasicist beliefs at present. (Saving my curses for verses)

  4. Maybe its because im on the phone or im blind but is there a link to the Matt Cooper show?

  5. No question was answered. Irish water “are in a process” of seeing how much they can get away with? Thanks very much, FF, Greens, FG and especially Labour.

  6. How dare that cow try tell us how much of a compliment we are getting in the free water allowance. The likes of her would have been employed by the Natzi’s and would have us thanking them for providing free accommodation in the death camps. Fuck you bitch. You won’t get a cent from me not a fucking cent.

  7. so far they have failed on the Integrity Value- Transparent, accountable, fair and Honest. ..

  8. “Citizens need to understand that they are consumers” WTF?

  9. Citizens need to understand that they are consumers and no longer citizens because we are no longer a society, just an economy. Therefore the concept of public services is being eroded in favour of “you can exist, but only if you pay for it”.

  10. I don’t hear much ‘destroying’ of this woman’s bullshit though, apart from pressing her to answer questions she was trying to avoid, where was the grilling? Don’t forget who his boss is, this interview should have gone much further, not enough broadcasters do unfortunately

  11. 0% transparency and 0% concern for the quality of water if its such a precious resource like the cow lady has scripted ! Fluoride does not belong in irish citizens water because thats what it is not irish water but your water you use and these pricks jump numbers on its flow into your house and this is protecting our future ?

  12. whats to appreciate about it ? every litre of water you drink your adding metals that are attracted to the brain which is lead cause of Alzheimer’s in this country !! and you double fluoride content of your water when you boil it DOUBLE !! wheres the health concern with the health minister and iws ? Enough of the communist rte playing their ads and the radios too we wont pay for robbery by the state for poison they wont remove !!

  13. its like she can only explain in a nice way how she plans to rob the country .. fuck off direct debit away haha lets see how far the public consultation goes 😉 because no one has been informed of a change for the millions spent on the same thing coming down and out a pipe !! id sooner pay my local council to facilitate cleaner methods of water delivery than these cowboys!

  14. And who in their right mind could possibly consider RTE a communist media outlet sure aren’t we paying them €160 a year in licence fees in order for them to provide fuck all decent programming Grian Bordon

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