Tag Archives: Irish Water

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Hilary Quinlan

The Irish Times reports this morning that junior minister at the Department of the Environment and Waterford TD, Paudie Coffey, has hired former Waterford Fine Gael councillor and Irish Water director, Hilary Quinlan, as his personal driver – earning him €665 a week.

Splutter.

Fiach Kelly reports:

“You tell me one party out there who doesn’t look after their own. I don’t see anything wrong with it. It’s politics.” [Mr Quinlan] asked why there isn’t more of a focus on the economy. “We were all nearly eating out of bins three years ago.”

Hmmm.

In January – before Mr Quinlan lost his seat at Waterford City Council at the local elections in May – he spoke to WLRFM about his €15,000-a-year appointment at Irish Water, saying Environment Minister Phil Hogan appointed him.

The Irish Daily Mail reported at the time:

Asked about the public perception of getting the post, Mr Quinlan told WLRFM: ‘Look, live in the real world now please. I’ve said what I have to say about it. I want to speak to you about the reasons why Irish Water was set up. I’m trying to put a positive spin on the New Year.’

“Revealing that his board member salary would be in the region of ’15 grand’, the Fine Gael representative, who has been a councillor for 29 years, added that he would ‘probably’ get travel and overnight expenses too. But he insisted: ‘That’s not my motivation. It never has been my motivation.’ When pressed on his appointment, he said: ‘I was in the right place at the right time.’

Irish Water director hired as personal driver by Minister (Fiach Kelly, Irish Times)

Previously: The John Deasy Transcript

Pic: Irish Water

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Former Environment Minister Phil Hogan was informed as far back as December 2012 that Irish Water had allocated a sum of more than €40m out of which consultants, among others, would be paid.

According to a document obtained by RTÉ’s This Week programme, Mr Hogan signed and approved of the document on 10 December 2012.

That is more than a year before the controversy broke over the spending of tens of millions of euro on consultancy services during the new water utility’s set-up.

Mr Hogan said he did not know that €50m had been spent on consultants when the controversy broke in January of this year.

He expressed concern at the level of spending at the time.

Listen to John Burke and Colm Ó Mongáin discuss the latest revelations on RTÉ Radio One’s This Week here.


Hogan knew of €40m Irish Water consultancy allocation in 2012 (RTÉ News)

Previously: Thicker Than Uisce

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Yikes.

UPDATE:

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Via People Before Profit

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Further to the temporary injunction that Justice Patrick McCarthy granted to GMC/Sierra on Friday, restraining seven men and two women or anyone with knowledge of the court order, from assaulting, harassing, intimidating,  or otherwise interfering with or obstructing the company’s workers from installing water meters in Dublin city…an ‘advertisement’ on Gumtree.ie today.

Specialist Security Officers Required for Irish Water protesters Nationwide (Gumtree.ie)

Temporary court injunction granted against water meter protesters (Independent.ie)

Previous: The Revolution Will Be Televised

Thicker Than Uisce

Tánaiste Joan Burton being heckled after she launched a Developing Breakfast Clubs report at St. Eithne’s Girls National School, Edenmore, Raheny, Dublin this morning.

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Today’s Irish Daily Mail

Ali Bracken and Eamon Donoghue, of the Irish Daily Mail, report [not online] that they’ve seen video footage of security staff filming protesters at Irish Water protests in Dublin.

They report:

In one video obtained by this newspaper, a [Irish Water] contractor in Swords, north Co. Dublin, assisting the water meter installers in July tells assembled protesters: “I want to make you aware you are in breach and you are being video-recorded at this moment of time and you are being video-recorded being told – and in some point in the future we may take you to court, it is an offence [against] section 12 [of the] Water Services Act.’

The worker continued: ‘But video evidence can be used at any time. I just want you to be aware of that. We now have video evidence of you breaching these rules…I’m not threatening you but I reserve the right to prosecute, and this is a promise is what I’m making (sic).’

Irish Water confirmed to the Mail last night that a contractor hired by them was recording some of the protesters. The semi-State company said in a statement that under section 12 of the 2007 Water Services Act, it is an offence for anyone to obstruct or interfere with a water services authority.

Blimey.

Previously: Thicker Than Uisce