Former Fine Gael Minister and Newstalk Breakfast presenter Ivan Yates
Irish Water.
How hairy?
Ivan Yates writing in today’s Irish Independent:
Irish Water is a monstrous Tower of Babel. Thirty four local councils are better placed to administer/collect revenue for Irish Water. They have in-house data from registers of electors, itemising and validating adult members of every house.
They can pinpoint, through the planning system, additional new houses and multi-residential buildings. They had systems of water rate collection for all commercial outlets and records of local authority houses.
….[Enda] Kenny and [Alan] Kelly [Environment Minister] have vested all their credibility in a top-heavy, platinum-plated quango, happily wasting another €650,000 on advertising campaigns that won’t change anyone’s mind about Irish Water.
The political exit to extricate ministers could be Eurostat. They know the Government’s revised charges plan won’t raise 51pc revenue relative to the projected expenditure model. Exchequer finance underlies Irish Water’s economics and balance sheet; without it they’re already insolvent. The NTMA accesses cheaper cash anyway.
The EU can do the Government a favour; get them off a flight plan towards an electoral crash. Irish Water can’t deliver acceptable, accurate, conservation-based billing and metering systems – maybe ever – but certainly not before polling day.
Ergo: Kenny and Co are impaled on a lethal hook that happens to be the single issue they could lose power on. Time to think again.
Blummin crusty, dog-on-a-string, Marxist nutjob.
Realpolitik means it’s back to drawing board on water (Ivan Yates, Independent.ie)
(Photocall Ireland/Photocall Ireland)
I cannot tale any criticism of anything from this man, he’ll have collected over €1m in pension payments by the day he turns 65, that is, in the 15 years since his retirement at 50.
And all for just 16 years in politics.
No one should be getting any state pensions until they reach the state pensionable age.
He is NOT in a position to criticise the states wasting of money on IW when he himself enjoys the benefits of a wasteful state.
Well said. It really annoyed me when he was crying about ONLY having his 65k pension to live on, disgusting.
He was originally on closer to €80k.
He should be on nothing until he passes the state pensionable age… 66 / 67 it is now, not sure.
He should have to forgo that cash to pay back for the debt of his company that he ran into the ground. He should also have lost it when he claimed residence and bankruptcy in Wales.
That’s a bit unfair. He made some poor decisions true but also had been trying unsuccessfully to sell the business as far as I can tell. He’s not different than a taxi plate owner who lost his golden ticket when the taxis were deregulated.
I also don’t agree that he should not be able to work now or have an opinion on IW> – that ‘s @ Clampers.
I do think Drogg has a point that as bankrupt he should not be allowed get his top up though
Here Joe,
I never said he shouldn’t be allowed work. Of course he should. And he has a good job in Newstalk.
I’m on about the MASSIVE GREAT BIG PIG TROUGH PENSION.
No one deserves a pension like that for 16 years service, and they certainly do not deserve it from the age of 50. A pension, that pays out more than the wages you earned in the job, and does so for 3 and 1/2 times longer than you worked…. are you off your rocker?
By he accepting such a pension, he forgoes any right to criticise the govt of wasting money. Plain and simple.
Because his pension, and him alone, costs the state €1m before he even reaches pensionable age. That’s the only point I’m making.
It’s disgusting, 16 years service, pension for a potential 50 years in return… over €3,000,000 by the time it’s done, he’s a well and fit man, he’ll see most of that €3m….
Golden pensions are bad enough, but when they are this much over the top and guaranteed not to be hammered by markets like ordinary citizens it is just sick and immoral.
Any good he ever did for anyone in govt, will be outweighed by his sponging off of the state…. IMO.
A gift from Charlie Haughey too remember, one of the biggest crook politicians ever.
Your saying he shouldn’t criticise because he is on a pension. That’s fupping wookie logic.
Maybe there’s an argument though that capable people won’t go into politics at all unless they are remunerated for alternatives foregone. And all we’ll be left with are the teachers. When Yates was working for us and not for Dinny he appeared to me to be fairly good at his job compared to some.
We can discuss the quantums involved of course and whether they are appropriate but then you would be pointing the finger at a lot of other retired public servants and their gold plated endowments (*rubs own endowment here – happy at using such a big word) too?
And also using the Indo to rant about it. Another part of the DOB empire. Like Newstalk. Might there be dissension in DOB towers about how IW are handling themselves? Or would it be more to do with the developing spat between DOB and IW about who should pick up the bill for IW workers security details?
Well said. I’ve no respect for this man.
What a load of ar$e! The register of electors is not accurate in-house data. I’ve been living in the UK for three years and I’m still on the register for Dublin.
Fyi, that’s your fault. It’s not the council’s job to chase after you when you move house, or, for that matter, country.
His point about the electoral and housing registers is that since the councils are already maintaining a database of households/addresses connected to the water supply network that they run it’s easier for them to update their inventory than to setup a new quango to do it. That is a valid point.
Horse pucky. If it was that easy for a semi-state to access wonderful info already held by country councils, don’t you think they would have done so rather than sending out registration packs, etc?
“Thirty four local councils are better placed to administer/collect revenue for Irish Water.” – Is he out of his mind? Genuine LOL.
“They can pinpoint, through the planning system, additional new houses and multi-residential buildings.” – Ah yeah. The wonderful planning system. Which is why, when IW took over, no one had any clue as to how much water was being lost, and even how many assets the councils had. That information has only been properly put together in the last month.
I’m not a particular fan of IW (though I do agree with water charges based on usage), but anyone can see that Yates is talking out of his ‘ask me bollix’.
water meters make sense but they need to charge those who are over using, it should be free on near free for average use
+ 1 .. right on the nose.
which also highlights that its not about conservation, even though they say it is, its not, its about making money.
Penalise families and subvent OAPs, the entire FF/FG tax agenda in one foul swoop – thats how they keep getting re-elected
I’m sorry john that is a ridiculous argument. It still costs loads of money to deliver the average amount of water to a house and treat an average amount of p&@s and s€&t coming out of it. Should electricity and gas be free to those who use an average amount??
It costs loads of money to treat 100% of potable water,
yet it doesn’t quite cost enough to stop 40% of it pissing
away through leaking infrastructure over the past 30-40 years?
This is simply about profits, gold plated pensions and the odd
political favour or 100,000.
And who’s fault was that for letting the pipes get so bad????
Ah Steve, you have lost the argument
“First set of proposed charges last year were based fully on usage, where there was a meter installed. Cue public outcry over summer that usage reflective charges were too high. Government look at it again.
Government then decide on flat charge, with households still able to beat the capped charge where meter is in place. Cue public outcry over winter that water charge is regressive and meters are a waste of money.”
I received a bill this morning from IW.I haven’t opened it so it’s a presumption.I never registered with them so where did they get my details. Living in Lusk
@swoon – relying on the old “no consent, no contract” lark? That’s foolhardy stance is going to cost you more in the long run!
Selfie dick.I did return any registration forms, filled in or otherwise.Thanks for useless input.
*did not
@swoon – if you did not complete the registration form they can’t make you pay then. Make sure to tell the judge that when you have an attachment of earnings (or social welfare) order against you.
They seem to just be sending bills to people regardless of whether they registered or not, but don’t worry, the value on the bill won’t be in any way accurate, and they won’t do anything to you for 15 months one way or another. So you can hold off on paying till after the next general election and see if the next government decide to dismantle Irish Water and start again.
Except the local authorities register is crap and inaccurate. Also the local authorities collection rates for commercial outlets is crap leaving behind large scale uncollected debt. Except that last summer irish water proposed accurate, conservation based billing for those houses with meters but the country had a fit when they saw the accurate, conservation based solely usage based water rates. And then the government decided on a flat charge in the winter, with the opportunity of those metered to beat the flat charge.
Keep spinning Ivan.
Seriously Steve, you’ve been spinning on here for the last few months
like an out of control PD communications advisor, to a rather rotund
former health minister.
Q. Do the PD’s(Renua) think they could implement the Irish water scam any better?
Tell me what is inaccurate or spin about the above statement.
The laddie’s not for turning. (Yet).
Crikey.
If you think Irish Water aren’t up to job then you can’t imagine what a farce it would be if it were run by county councils.
I think someone should explain to Ivan what the Tower of Babel actually referred to. Philistine.
Is this the same Ivan who went bankrupt in England and on his show moaned how he had to pay 300euro for one night hotel in Liverpool for aintree after a week in fairyhouse
Billing us for water, what a con, we will most certainly get the most over priced water probably anywhere in EU, water conservation! But if you can afford more that’s fine Ching Ching, we will be paying for the complete replacement of the water pipes for ever, oh and wait till they inform us about all swerage treatment plants they have to build as well as upgrading all the old ones, IW will become a mortgage for most of us.
Here is an idea, why don’t we have a community based system, we all pay tax and whoever is voted in will be tasked with providing COMMUNITY services for us – no wait, didn’t we have that?