Environment Minister Alan Kelly
Environment Minister Alan Kelly spoke to Sean O’Rourke on RTÉ Radio One this morning of his absolute satisfaction with the number of Irish Water bills that have been paid (fewer than half).
He was so pleased he lost his temper.
Sean O’Rourke: “Just coming back to Irish Water, you said they have targets, what are their targets then for the rest of this year. They’re at 46% mid-year, what are the targets for end-of-year?”
Alan Kelly: “Well they’re not at 46% mid-year, they’re at 46% after the first billing cycle of three months where some bills have only literally been arriving in people’s houses in June. So that’s where they’re at. I am absolutely very satisfied with this figure.”
O’Rourke: “No tell us more about the targets.”
Kelly: “Well, as regards the first set of bills, I’m very satisfied and looking at the volume of people who are engaging with Irish Water – over half a million, 540,000 customer engagements – with the volume of people who are signing up to direct debits, we’re quite satisfied that that figure is going to increase continuously.”
O’Rourke: “Yes but you still haven’t – at the third time of asking – told me what the targets are…”
Kelly: “But Sean, Sean, but Sean..”
Talk over each other
O’Rourke: “We were never told what the targets were.”
Kelly: “But Sean, they’re in line with what was expected for a first-time utility bill and this is the first time it was ever paid..”
Talk over each other
O’Rourke: “Well, if you’d told us three months ago that…”
Kelly: “I’ll give you, I’ll give you, you’re looking for…it’s impossible to say straight out, for me or for anyone else who is in charge of departments that have utilities underneath, exactly the volume of people who paid
. It’s impossible for Alex White to say how many people are going to pay their bills in relation to the TV license, as it is with me and Irish Water but when we do comparisons to similar types of bills, the household charge, the payments to Irish Water are ahead of where it was with the household charge. If we do a correlation with similar type utilities, similar water-type utilities across Europe, for instance in our neighbours in Britain, it is, on par, not ahead of what was in there as well.”
O’Rourke: “Yes but if you had told us three months ago that, in response to the first billing that’s sent out, if we get 46% or if we get close to 50% compliance, we’ll be very happy with that, then you could say, yeah we’re happy with that. But you never told us what the targets were. So I’d just like to know, so that people can decide in 3 or 6 months time, are the targets being met, what are the targets now for the rest of the year?”
Kelly: “Our, it would be impossible with the first-time bill to set out an exact target…”
O’Rourke: “So there are no targets, that’ really what you’re saying.”
Kelly: “No I’m not saying that, at all Sean, and please do no put words into my mouth. I don’t respect that.”
O’Rourke: “No, I’m extrapolating…”
Kelly: “No, no, no, I’ve been very clear with you.”
O’Rourke: “You haven’t actually, you’ve most certainly not…”
Kelly: “I actually have.”
O’Rourke: “You’ve refused flatly to tell me about the targets. No but sorry…”
Kelly: “Sean, when somebody’s interviewing you, you’ve got to at least allow me the courtesy…”
O’Rourke: “Yeah, and I’ve given you four or five chances to say what the targets are and you haven’t done so.”
Kelly: “Sean, we expect everyone to pay this bill, if they choose, if they feel they have a difficulty with paying their bill, there are many options in which they can be facilitated. Those are people who decide, they have difficulty paying. For those who are refusing to pay, or saying they can’t pay, there will be bills, there will be additional charges that will kick in after a year, as you are well aware. On top of that then there will be, there is compliances coming through legislation which I’ve spoken about to [Justice Minister] France Fitzgerald. In relation to the current figures, as has been outlined today, I am beyond satisfied with the volume of people who have paid their bills in a short period of time when I correlate it with the only thing I can correlate it with, as a minister, is similar type bills which is the household charge or in other jurisdictions where water bills are paid as well. They are the only comparisons I have Sean and I’m very satisfied with them, is that clear?”
O’Rourke: “Well it’s cleat that you’re satisfied. We’re not clear as to what the targets for the rest of the year but you’ve explained..”
Kelly: “Well the targets is very simple. I expect whether that people will pay their bills and if they have issues with paying their bills, obviously Irish Water are going to engage with them and I’ve facilitated that and where people are refusing to pay there is compliance mechanism to ensure that everyone will pay their bills. And they are the targets Sean.”
O’Rourke: “Just remind us what Frances Fitzgerald is going to be bringing forward.”
Kelly: “Well through the Dail at the moment, Frances Fitzgerald is bringing in debt management legislation so it’s basically legislation to deal with all, all debt. So where somebody is not paying their bills or has a small amount of debt, it can be managed through this process. It’s to ensure that also we don’t have a situation where people are going to jail for small amounts of debt. So there can be mechanisms to ensure that people pay their bills.”
Later
O’Rourke: “As they say in Sky News, this just in, minister. ‘Irish Water is a fiasco, that’s now an official fact. Kelly must go’ says Mattie McGrath, TD, your new constituency colleague in the one county constituency of Tipperary.”
Kelly: “Look, I stopped taking Mattie seriously a long time ago so I won’t be taking that comment seriously either. You know Mattie will do anything for attention and sure here’s another example of it.”
Later
O’Rourke: “And one last, last question, the name of the new political venture, I think it is going to be a party, Social Democrats, Stephen Donnelly, your former colleague Roisin Shorthall and Catherine Murphy – what do you make of that?”
Kelly: “I didn’t even know that to be honest with you. They’re name is Social Democrats?”
O’Rourke: “Dot ‘i’ ‘e’.”
Kelly: “That’s a surprise to be honest with you given the background of particularly one of them but that’s up to them. I wouldn’t discourage from going down any political venture. That’s their own business and best of luck to anyone who’s involved in politics. ”
Listen back here.
Previously: Trying To Bury Caesar
Mark Stedman/Rollingnews.ie
Spin doctors written all over this eh lolz
Obfuscate, obfuscate, obfuscate. Attack the presenter for interrupting. Act wounded at perceived lack of respect.
Crone Bingo!
Can’t see any spin… just some fool not willing to answer, and badly advised on drawing comparisons to the TV Licence which is highly predictable with regard to numbers who will pay each year…. due to the info being available, if he could be bothered to look.
Asking how many people initially subscribed to the tv licence as an example of historical non compliance shows complete and utter cluelessness.
True… but no one asked, Alan offered it as a comparison, even mentioning Alan White and his collection of TV licence which can be forecast with some accuracy… the mind boggles…
All the more reason for you to run Clampers
I’d say you’ve been up every tree in Dublin 8
Im talking about them being satisified, they know they are seething but they must have their PR people trying to look at this in a positive light lol
I get that the “every tree” line is from Ahern, but what does it actually mean?
“Up every tree”….. I think means “canvassed everyone”
Thanks. You’ve got my vote ;)
Sorry Fluffy… crossed wires :)
The glee around this is sad to witness.
Just lets say the protesters win and they take down Irish water.
What is their actual replacement plan for it? who will invest in and fix the existing infrastructure?
Best guess would be a competent utility service that seems to be less money grabby and more about the infrastructure and maintenance of water!
http://www.water.ie/news/
Go to this page and do a control + F for any of the following words : “investment” “improvement” “upgrade” etc.
Most of those improvements were in the post or started before Irish water.
Love those statements without any back up. Evidence to the contrary.
http://www.water.ie/news/boil-water-notices-lifted/
Note the words “prioritised” and “priority”
How’s the job going in Irish Water Steve?
If I thought this was true, I’d be out protesting with the rest, but the fact is we either swallow the waste and get a clunky water utility, or throw it all out, swallow the waste and get nothing. I’d rather see the people responsible fired or crucified electorally, but there’s every chance we’re returning to the old post-civil war political cycle with barely a hiccup, so, just, y’know, goddamn it.
irish water is staffed to twice the UK level and average salaries are over twice the EU average.
120 managers have Audi company cars.
They spend €600,000 anually on advertising
They spent 500,000,000 on meters.
Don’t be fooled for 1 second. ALL revenue raised via billing will be used to run the company. NOT ONE CENT will be used to fix leaks.
Controversial plan, but bear with me.
How about we, as a society, all pay a portion of our income, in proportion to our earnings/means, right, into a central fund, an exchequer if you will.
And then, say, a governing body, we’ll call it a government, used that money for the common good – like water infrastructure?
It’s been tried before with schools and hospitals and some say it’s a lot fairer than a flat tax on everyone regardless of income or circumstances. I mean, we could try and ask the users of our schools and hospitals to each pay a few hundred a year, rich and poor alike, but it’s probably smoother to run it if we ALL pay a fair rate, right?
Think on it.
Yes but they’re trying to widen the tax base and make it less dependent on boom and bust cycles
The rest of us subsidise the no work class and the grannies
Many of those grannies will have spent an entire working life paying tax and contributing to the upkeep of the State, so they’ve done their share.
Yes but what has your granny done for me lately?
“the no work class and the grannies”? Joe the loin, I sincerely hope you get ill and can’t earn an income.
thanks Ollie please rephrase for me
The rest of us subsidise the criminal banking fraternity.
Nice try but no incentive to conserve water.
In order to fix the infrastructure, we need to identify leaks – so meters necessary there.
We need about 25 billion to upgrade, not enough tax for that so cash needed from markets which is how other public utilities do it as well.
25 billion? Did you pull that figure out of your asre?
They don’t have a replacement plan.
They never f***ing do. Its the reason that FF & FG have held onto support for so long and why things take so long to change. Its the biggest problem with Irish political life – the absolute refusal of the opposition to be grown-up & thoughtful. It allows the establishment to be sloppy
I’d say Kelly got beat up in school alot.
Sorry, hope.
Isn’t the Provos or RIRA after him now.
Underpants gnomes.
What else is he going to say? “Oh, no, we’re disappointed and close to despondency, the verminous rabble, or so-called ‘protesters’ have defeated us and our potential shareholders…” no, of course he is thoroughly satisfied…
“It’s impossible for Alex White to say how many people are going to pay their bills in relation to the TV license”
Hold on Alan… I’ll use that thing they call Google….
There was this..
http://www.thejournal.ie/tv-licence-non-payment-1887498-Jan2015/
And this…
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/more-than-270000-are-not-paying-tv-licence-29529648.html
And where do these people get their stats Alan? Oh, from the TV licence collection people… and they have annual figs going back years… I see… and so they can forcast how many will pay… I see… so, you’re talking through your hole I see Alan. That’s a good little Enda puppet.
Christ who ever advises FG over how to be”vague” in answers is a complete total gobsh*te, in fairness.
This is great ould craic
Thank dog the non paying customers of IW can be hunted down by Eircode and served with summonses like the pig dogs they are
Why can’t he just be honest about it? Us Irish have an awful habit of never wanting to admit defeat, even if it’s staring us in the face :D
wanker
do as i say not say as i do
He has an ego. And that will be his downfall.
A thuggish manner too.
alan kelly constantly has a contemptive look about him .. he’s like agent smith in the matrix, hates having to be on earth with us animals, “i hate this place .. this .. zoo!” .. he really doesnt hide it at all, just like most of FG & labour, would prefer a political system where they didnt have to answer to the public or address us at all,
http://i.imgur.com/pXHKhfd.jpg
“They’re name is”?
as noonan would say get off the stage .
Write off irish water at your peril. Minister Kelly has a Certificate in Leadership. Leadership.
You don’t need to listen to anything he is saying, just watch his body language…Arms crossed in defensive mode brow furrowed, the look of a worried man.
Thankfully mass non payment has ensured that the IW shambles will now definitely be a general election issue.
+ 1 vote
Kelly was pig ignorant as usual on RTE this morning.