Tag Archives: Irish Water

protestwaterwaterprotest2

[Resident Brian Gould (top) protests against the installation of Irish Water meters in Ashbrook Heights, Togher, Cork city, as gardaí arrive at the estate this morning]

Member of the Ballyphehane and South Parish Anti Water and Property Tax group started to block Irish Water contractors from carrying out their water meter installation work at around 9.30am yesterday morning, while some of the estate’s residents parked their cars over the stop-cock valves outside their homes to stop the installation work.

Eoin English, of the Irish Examiner, reports this morning that the gardaí arrived around noon and the work resumed some time later.

However, this morning both the Irish Water contractors and the protesters have returned to the estate with gardaí warning the protesters this morning that they face arrest if they continue to block the contractors.

Stand-off as Cork residents vow to continue Irish Water protests (Eoin English, Irish Examiner)

Pics: Eoin English

Update:

hoganwater

Fiach Kelly, in the Irish Times, reports this morning that Environment Minister Phil Hogan has sought and received permission to obtain money from the Government in order for Irish Water to pay 1,100 voluntary redundancies.

Mr Kelly reports:

While the new utility believes it will need about 1,700 staff, it has signed service level agreements with the 34 local authorities who run the Republic’s water and waste water infrastructure. These legal agreements, which run up to 2026, involve about 4,300 local authority staff, whose cost is to be paid by Irish Water.

However, Mr Hogan’s memorandum provides more detail on the redundancies planned to bring this number down. They will cost some €39 million, which will be provided over a period between 2015 and 2016.

Irish Water gets funding for 1,100 redundancies (Irish Times)

Previously: Thicker Than Uisce

Photocall Ireland

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[Environment Minister Phil Hogan, of Fine Gael]

Further to Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s announcement in the Dáil yesterday that the average cost per household in relation to Irish Water will be €240 a year,…

The Irish Examiner reports:

“[This figure] was not signed off by Labour who said they did not get the memo proposing these costs until late on Tuesday night — with little time to examine the complex document before yesterday’s morning cabinet meeting.”

“Yet they believe Fine Gael expected them to sign off on the memo yesterday in an effort to “railroad” the planned costs and charging method without adequate discussion. “We feel we’ve not been treated well by our partners. The two issues are adequate metering and affordability. It [Cabinet] was a heated discussion,” said a senior Labour source.”

Kenny sparks Labour fury over push on water charges (Irish Examiner)

Previously: Thicker Than Uisce

Siemens

Further to last week’s timeline on the setting up of Irish Water (as it pertained to Denis O’Brien, Phil Hogan, etc). Some doubts were expressed about the merits of Siemens’ bid to supply water meters to the State.

Siemens had offered a deal that reportedly included ‘free installation’.

This was nonsense, we were told in not so few words.

So we sent Bodger back to the National Library scoured the ‘net’ to find out more details about that Siemens bid…

October 22, 2010: RTÉ Six One News reported that Siemens had offered to fund the installation of water meters in 1.1 million households nationwide and that the then Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, welcomed a meeting between the Government and the company.

RTÉ journalist Will Goodbody reported:

Like it or not the Government says domestic water charges are coming. The only question is when and how the system will work. The choice – a flat rate charge on each household or the introduction of water meters. Around 1.1million homes will need water meters installed if metering of fresh water is to be established. The estimated cost of doing that is around five to six hundred million euro. But, right now, that’s money that the Government doesn’t have. But today multinational engineering company Siemens confirmed it’s interested in funding the project and is seeking a meeting with the Minister For Finance about it. Siemens would lend the money needed to install the meters with its costs ultimately being paid from savings made by the Government’s water services programme. And if such a scheme could be arranged it would mean the cash-strapped Government could introduce water charges even sooner.

April 22, 2012: It was reported that, once in Government, Environment Minister Phil Hogan didn’t pursue a 2010 offer from Siemens CEO Werner Kruckow to pay the €810million cost to install water meters in Irish homes.

The Sunday Independent reported:

“Siemens proposed funding the fitting of water meters through an investment to be paid back through savings made in the multibillion-euro cost of providing water services once the meters were installed. Instead the National Pensions Reserve Fund will be raided for €450m to pay some of the bill. The loan from its coffers will have to be paid back with interest at commercial rates, Mr Hogan has admitted, which would be at least €350m. Added to the estimated €810m installation fee, that brings the national water meter fitting bill to well over €1bn.”

“Siemens told the Sunday Independent that no formal offer was made by the department following discussions with officials.”

“Asked why it hadn’t pursued the Siemens offer the Department of the Environment didn’t supply an explanation, but said it had chosen the Irish Water option after 12 months of discussions with stakeholders as “the optimal organisational form for water services delivery in Ireland”.”

December 10, 2013: In the Seanad, during the committee stage of the Water Services (No. 2) Bill 2013, Independent Senator Sean Barrett addressed Junior Environment Minister Fergus O’Dowd about the offer from Siemens.

He said:

“What is the approved water charges plan? We do not know how much water will cost or the amount of the free allowance that will be granted. I am not trying to make a wrong analogy, but a used car salesman has to tell his customers how much he is charging. The Government has been far too coy. It is time to put the numbers on the table in order that we can approve the water charges plan. In 2010 there were discussions with the Siemens company on its offer to install meters for nothing. More than three years later the dance of the seven veils has gone on for long enough. There is too much concealment and hugger mugger. Put the numbers on the table and let the people make their decision.”

January 22, 2014: Minister O’Dowd returned to the Seanad to field questions about Irish Water. Independent Senator Fergal Quinn asked about the Siemens offer.

He said:

“Is there an understanding with regard to the costs that obtain in this area? Siemens offered to invest €800 million in a public private partnership relating to installing 1.8 million water meters in Irish homes. The Government turned down that offer and I do not understand why. Perhaps the Minister of State will indicate why it did so.”

And there the trail went cold.

We contacted Senator Quinn, asking if he had received a reply to his question.

He wrote: “No, sadly that question wasn’t answered. Minister Fergus O’Dowd said that decision was made before he was appointed Minister.”

Hmm.

More to follow.

Previously: Thicker Than Water

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Members of the Anti Austerity Alliance outside Irish Water HQ on Talbot Street, Dublin this lunchtime.

Inside campaigners staged a sit-in to protest at the cost of the set up of Irish Water and what they see as the first stage of the eventual privatisation of Ireland’s water network.

Anti Austerity Alliance (Facebook)

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Minister for Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin, in the Dáil moments ago.

The Dáil is currently discussing the approval of an order to include Irish Water in the Freedom of Information Act. It will be applied retrospectively, going back to July, 17, 2013, when it was legally established as a subsidiary of Bord Gáis Éireann.

This means questions can be asked about the operations of the body going back to that date.

*rubs hands*

Related: Freedom of Information to cover Irish Water

Watch live here

Ray1Uiscee

[From top: Ray D’Arcy and the Irish Water logo that cost €20,000]

Pamela Blake, of Today FM’s Ray D’Arcy Show, writes:

In the Daily Mail last week, they revealed Dublin-based agency Zero-G were paid €20,000 to come up with the new logo for Irish Water. That’s €5,000 per word. Ray talked about it on air and wondered how it could cost so much?

Listening in Limerick was Ken – a graphic designer. He loaded the logo into a ‘find a font’ programme and found that the font used is ‘SCALA SANS’ – a free font available to source online. He then recreated the logo himself in the space of 10 minutes.

When we asked Bord Gáis – the Irish Water mothership – what font their designers used in the logo, they came back to us and said it’s ‘a bespoke font designed especially for the logo’.

That’s funny! So when we sent Ken’s illustration below back to them and explained the SCALA SANS font, they backtracked and gave us this response:

“The typeface for the logo is an adaptation of the typeface Scala Sans. This typeface was selected for its good readability both online and in print. It is a modern clean typeface that also lends itself to effective form design. The font is open source and is free to use, in keeping with the overall principles of developing an identity programme that is efficient and cost-effective.”

Cost-effective? How is €20,000 for this logo using a free, open source ready-made font cost effective?

Zero-G, who created the logo, did not have to tender for the job as it was below a specified threshold. They have previously designed logos and branding for Bord Gáis.

Irish Water Logo (Today FM)

Previously: Fontabulous