Micheál Martin has described the €50 million paid by Irish Water for consultancy services involving financial management, information technology and customer systems as scandalous and extravagant. He may be right. But before executives from the State company are pilloried as incompetent, profligate or worse, they should be allowed to explain their conduct.
The public interest demands they provide detailed breakdowns of the amounts paid to outside companies; the services provided and the need for such expensive arrangements. Because Irish Water is a public utility, that information should be given, in public session, to the Dáil Committee of Public Accounts.
This controversy has helped to rekindle debate over water charges and the role of Irish Water in absorbing some traditional functions of local authorities. Opposition parties are demanding answers and Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan is once again in the firing line. He has defended the expenditure of "a lot of money" by Irish Water on the grounds that open tenders for consultancy contracts were conducted and were verified by the regulator. In light of past broken promises, secrecy and rushed decisions in this area, much greater transparency is required. The activities and operations of Irish Water should be covered by the Freedom of Information Act.
A Government commitment to deliver the bulk of revenues from the new property tax to local authorities was broken. Instead, the money went to Irish Water. Then, there was an unprecedented delay of eight weeks between last October’s budget and the announcement of local funding allocations, making the drafting of budgets particularly difficult.
The whirligig, populist nature of Irish politics is encapsulated by water charges. Fine Gael and the Labour Party abolished them in government; rejected them in opposition and are now reintroducing them. Fianna Fáil agreed to impose charges under an EU-IMF arrangement but now rejects them. Meanwhile, householders with mains supply will be asked to pay from next October. But bills will not issue until January 2015. Charges have not yet been fixed. Neither has the size of a free water allowance. Connections to a public sewer will also cost money. This lack of clarity is clearly linked to the local elections.
Ireland is the only developed country not to charge for drinking water. That has resulted in a lack of investment, disrupted supplies, threats to health and "boil water" notices. The EU water directive requires member states to ensure that "water pricing policies provide adequate incentives to use water resources efficiently and to recover the true cost of water services in an equitable manner." That obligation is clear and unambiguous. Political game-playing will not change it.