Brendan Howlin: 'Clearly, the

whole water charges issue was

a mistake'
After a crushing defeat in the last election, Labours Brendan Howlin
talks about water charges, Alan Kelly and how the government nearly
collapsed a number of times.
September 25, 16

BRENDAN HOWLIN OPENS the door to his office in

Labour headquarters in Leinster House. The quarters are
notably smaller than their previous haunt.
After a crushing defeat in the last election the worst in
their 104-year history the party saw its representation in
our national parliament fall from 37 to just 7.

Due to the partys massive loss, which meant that they

could neither afford nor fill that much office space any
more, Labours remaining people have been relegated
down a long corridor (which has a secret side entrance
into the Dil bar) to a part of Leinster House known as the
annex.
Their previous quarters the top floor, airy, rooms with a
view are now occupied by Sinn Fin, a bruising that is no
doubt difficult for some in the Labour Party to take.
There is a smell of fresh paint in the offices on Friday as
the recently-hired staff are buzzing around, preparing for
the party think-in which is taking place in Dublins
Mansion House that evening.
Veteran party leader
The party leader also has a pep in his step.
Taking a seat at the grand conference table, he explains
that the room was home to some well-known Labour
figures of the past, such as Dick Spring and the current
President, Michael D Higgins.
If the Labour leader wants a ministerial office on Kildare
Street in the future, things will have to change for the
party, and Howlin knows this.
Cast your minds back just a few years to 2011, and youll
remember Fine Gael and Labour rode a wave of populist
sentiment all the way to Dil Eireann.
But once Labour got their feet under the table, the larger
party in government placed two ticking time bombs in
their lap housing and water charges.

Water charges
Clearly, the whole water issue was a mistake, says
Howlin now.
During the Economic Management Council (EMC)
meeting in November 2014, Howlin says he and Eamon
Gilmore fought trenchantly for charges not to be
introduced until all the metering was completed.
The Labour leader says he didnt want them introduced
until an analysis of cost had been carried out so there
wouldnt be a fear from people.
We should have postponed it, we shouldnt have allowed
for it to go ahead.
Fine Gael were of the view that, no, no, once you started
charging, people would simply accept it.
Howlin admits his party misread the mood of the people
on the water charges issue.
Yes, probably. I think Irish Water became the last straw
for people who were already just hanging on by their
fingernails after going through the worst recession since

the foundation of the state, says the Wexford deputy.

Fine Gaels Phil Hogan set sail for Europe (he is currently
the European Commissioner on Agriculture), leaving
Labours then-Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly to
become the poster boy for water charges.
He [Phil] did go to Europe and there were big issues left in
the housing and water area. We tried to do the best that we
could with it and Alan made a decent fist of it.
Despite being out of government now, Labour is still not
budging or distancing themselves from the issue.
So why are they hitching their wagon to Irish Water, which
remains so toxic in the mind of the public? Howlin says he
is not going to go down the road of populism politics.
The one thing we said after the election the populist
thing for us to do and maybe the simplest thing for us to
do is to take the populist line on everything.
But Irish Water wasnt a mistake. I am absolutely
convinced we needed a single national utility to deliver
water.

Howlin maintains that 4 billion needs to be invested in

Irelands water infrastructure. Its his partys policy that a
charge should be implemented when someone goes over
their allotted free allowance.
But Irish Water is no longer Labours problem. So how
does he think the new government is handling the issue
these days?
I think it is a dogs dinner now. I dont know what the
future holds because Fianna Fil changes its position on it
every second Wednesday. I dont know what will
ultimately happen, but it cant be that whatever is popular
this week is the national strategic approach to a valuable
resource, he says.

Alan Kelly and THAT press conference

As if Labour didnt have enough problems after the
election, it almost immediately started to air its dirty
laundry in public with a squabble over the leadership.
Alan Kelly made his intentions for the leadership quite
clear, appearing on The Late Late Show and stating that he
wanted to take the top job. However, in the end, the party
went with veteran member Howlin.
The culmination was the Labour leadership press

conference, where there was one notable absence: Alan

Kelly.

Was he annoyed that Kelly had tried to steal his thunder

on what would be one of the biggest days of his career?
No, Alan made his own decision not to be there. I was very
happy and honoured to be in that position That day was
an important day for me and nothing blemished it.
We knew how fragile the party was at that stage. We
didnt want a long, protracted, internal introspective look
at ourselves. We had already done that- we had a
leadership election only two years ago, says Howlin.
Throughout the interview, Howlin is keen to drive the
message home that the Labour Party has turned a corner
and is ready to rebuild. Howlin doesnt want to hark back
to those days at the beginning of the summer.
He denies there is no love lost between him and Kelly.
I have a great working relationship with everyone in the
party, he says.
It is all hands on deck, everyone knows how hard we are
going to have to work to win back the trust.

A sore point
The election is clearly a sore point for Howlin. Adjusting in
his seat and clearing his throat, he says:
I think people were shocked at the scale of the defeat. To
lose 30 seats was shattering.
The party has been licking its wounds over the summer
with Howlin travelling the length and breadth of the
country to meet with constituents and assess the damage.
Politics that is the way the game works out sometimes
and you have to dust yourself off and get on with it.

The Wexford TD says he knows where their voters went.

They went all over the shop, he says.
Fianna Fil recovered a few seats, so Howlin acknowledges
the few they took from them in the 2011 election returned.
Others went to Sinn Fin, but the vast bulk went to the
independents, he says.
These are very much parked votes that we have to win
back. I dont take that for granted it is going to be a slow
and steady reach out to people.
It will involve explaining what we did in the last five years
including the mistakes we made, because it is clear that
people had different expectations of us and some people
were disappointed in us.
There were promises made that we didnt keep and that
wounded us, there is no doubt about it. We have to learn
from that and make sure it never happens again.
Howlin maintains Labour is a left, progressive, social
democratic party that strives to protect working people.
He hits back at other left groups who would disagree with
that description, noting that other left parties didnt make
great gains in the last election.
For all their campaigning and all their ranting, the AAAPBP didnt make a great advance, he says.

Ranters of the left

Todays government is a strange new mix of Fine Gael and
independents, backed to some degree by Fianna Fil.
Howlin doesnt think it will last more than a year.
I think we have to be prepared that this government wont
last a year.I know from discussions with senior ministers
that they think the whole thing is dysfunctional
themselves, although they wont say it publically, they
cant.
Not a week seems to go by that there isnt some sort of
crisis in Cabinet hitting the headlines. Did these sort of
disagreements go on between Fine Gael and Labour?
Yes, some of it would have happened behind closed doors
insofar as a clash of views and that is what coalition thrash
out behind closed doors.
We never allowed ourselves to be bullied. The government
came close to falling apart on more than one occasion, but
we kept it internal because it was too important for the
external view of Ireland, to invest in Ireland, to know that
we were holding it together as best we could.
Speaking about some members of the Independent
Alliance have been rocking the boat in Cabinet, Howlin
says:
Once government policy is determined it is either
government policy supported by all or people resign from
government. You cant be in and out at the same time.
I am listening to ministers now talking as if government
is different than themselves that cant be, he says.

What Fine Gael would have done

Despite criticisms that his party did not stand up to Fine
Gael as much as it should have, Howlin maintains the
country would be very different had Labour not been in
power.
There is no doubt about that. I know, because I was the
man charged with looking after the public purse and I
know what they would have done.
We had endless debate about expenditure. On the taxation
and the expenditure side if you look at what Fine Gael
actually said they would do and what we actually did in
government you will see the difference
On the taxation side they were inclined to reduce the top
rate of tax. We said no, we want to reduce the impact of
the Universal Social Charge (USC) on low income earners
because they were brought in by Fianna Fil at a punitive
rate on everything over 4,000.
He also cites the protection of core social welfare

payments, the marriage equality referendum and the

legislating for the X case as some of Labours
achievements in government.
The truth of the matter is, despite what the party or the
people give Labour credit for in the last government, they
have a long path ahead of them.
Theres a knock on the door and time is up. Howlin says he
has to rush to a radio interview.
With the partys annual think-in taking place over the next
two days the party leader is in demand. He was used to
receiving this level of attention during his time as Minister
for Public Expenditure and Reform, but its not as easy to
come by these days.
Labour has risen from the ashes before but can it do it
again? Howlin knows it will be quite the task, but he seems
up for the job.
It is a rebuild, it is a reconnect, we have to do that with a
degree of humility as well and ask people to support us
again.
http://www.thejournal.ie/brendan-howlin-sunday-interview-2993332Sep2016/

During the Economic Management Council (EMC) meeting

in November 2014, Howlin says he and Eamon Gilmore
fought trenchantly for charges not to be introduced until
all the metering was completed."

Irish Water. Founded by liars

May 4, 2014
Brendan Howlin's election "Manifesto" (tissue of false
promises) during Irish Labour party election campaign.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdp2pGo4SeE
Deputy Howlin must be joking.His party were
strong defenders of the water charges.Their
Education minister caused havoc in the
sector attempting in particular trying to get
rid of counselling for 2nd level students.Joan
Burton cut disability allowances,job seekers
allowances, the old age pension, electricity

and phone allowances for the elderly.Joan

even got rid of the berievement grant.
Neither LABOOUR nor FINE Gael would even
leave the dead alone.
Labours arrogance will never be
forgotten.The electorate got rid of
them.Hopefully they never return
Clearly, the whole water issue was a
mistake, says Howlin now.
But Irish Water wasnt a mistake. I am
absolutely convinced we needed a single
national utility to deliver water
Jesus, He can`t even keep it together for an
interview,
This is opposition politics (It was a
mistake.). Like FF, Labour are playing the
public on water charges. If either gets back
into government, whatever they said in
opposition will be sacrificed to urgent
pressing economic/fiscal situation.
Its also the publics fault Labour failed so
says Leader Brendan Howlin.
In the daily Fine Gael newsletter, formally
called the Irish Independent, Howlin said his
partys disastrous election happened in part
because many Irish people had stopped
listening to Labour.
Who can blame people for turning off from
Labour, with all the crap they have pulled
and continue to pull including matters related
to #AppleTax, bullied in water meters and
Irish Water recharging never mind the 64
BILLION bank debt they also slapped the

public with?
Labour have the stupidity and the arrogance
to think its also the publics fault they failed?
If only they had that much balls to stand up
instead, to Fine Gael and the EU previously!
No they decided to take a once left-wing
party to the right repeatedly!
Labour talking schite and still spinning their
crap down upon a nation!
The people of Ireland are DAMN RIGHT to
stop listening to their crap. Any person willing
to join Labour is a god-damn fool!
On the last day of the Labour think-in
Brendan Howlin has said that as the party
leader, he would be happy to work with
Fianna Fail if it moved more to the left. Thats
nice isnt it?
Seeing as Labour has been for the last five
years, pushing EU right-wing policies and Fine
Gael right-wing policies how about Labour
try moving to the left where it should always
have been in the first damn place!
Labour hopes to increase its membership
numbers to 8,000. For the moment, I think
they are living in a dream-world of their own
making on this. This is not to say they wont
do it just in order to do it, the amount of PR
spin, the repeated buckets of forthcoming
crap thrown out to achieve it, are going to be
sky high!
Dont forget that Labour too is rejecting the
#Appletax 13 Billion thats owed to the
people while Labour was also party to

ramming on people, a 64 Billion bank debt

that civilians had NO part in creating in the
first place.
Like other parties, Labour too seems to think
we are all beneath them and complete thick!
They are sure treating us this way? How? Well
Howlins latest statement is that he believes
a free water allowance should be given to
families, with charges for any excess used
(same thinking as Green Party, also
supporting the multiple recharge racket!).
Hang on though If memory serves me right
and Im not going senile, when the Irish
Water racket was first started, FG and Labour
stated the people would get a water
allowance but then they sneakily withdrew
it without any public announcement! Now
Labour is not only u-turning again but trying
on the same PR stunt allowance once more!
(NOTE: In order to get this allowance, you will
of course, have to register with Irish Water,
enter into a legal contract, sign your name
thus giving Irish Water your legal recognition
of them thus allow them to recharge you
and admit against yourself that you are liable
for this recharge!)
Just how thick do they think we, the public,
are?
Its just one more OLD POLITICS sly stunt,
one after another. Labour admits they made
mistakes in the past? They are STILL making
them and we are STILL seeing them!
They havent changed much at all. Just the

PR crap is being reworded or regurgitated!

Labour members and supporters can go
away! My feelings have not changed there
either
This is the same party who claimed what
they were doing was always prudent, even
when it contradicted what they said before
March 2011, or when they were happy to
start give-away budgets again in the last 18
months before the last general election.
Hows that commitment to doing equality and
poverty evaluations of budgets coming along
Brendan? Back on the agenda again? Just
wait for a heart-warming re-discovery of
social values and citizens welfare from FG
whenever they go back into opposition.
The liars and cheaters that are leading the
Labour party should resign and join their
cronies in FG. I'd say Larkin and Connelly are
spinning in their graves at the injustices their
party leaders are imposing on the Irish leople
in a very undemocratic way. If they do any
more u turns on their pollicys they will also
be spinning. Mind you dont get too dizzy like
that witch you call "mein furher".

eire.com
Government, Infrastructure, Business
"
"

About
Contact Me

Why wate r mete rs we re a bad de cision (still)

Posted: November 24th, 2014 | Author: antoin | No Comments

Lots of spin going on today about why water meters are a good idea

and how many leaks they are finding. Apparently, Irish Water has
already identified 20 houses that were using loads and loads of water.
But this is only one million litres a day of water.
That is obviously great, but greater savings, and a lot less aggravation
could have been had by taking much simpler and less expensive
measures in relation to finding leaks, and by using the 600 million euros
to replace water pipes. The 539 million euros being spent on this
metering program is enough to replace thousands of kilometres of
water mains (and incidentally, meter boxes could be inexpensively fitted
at the same time as doing this work).

Most leaks, certainly the massive ones listed above, could be tracked
down by putting bulk meters on the entrance to every street or housing
estate, at a relatively low cost and without half the nonsense.
There is also an issue in relation to whether digging up old pipes to
install water meters is actually causing leaks. Old pipes tend to be brittle
and any manipulation could cause problems. It is hard to quantify how
significant this could be.
It is not that installing meters is a bad idea. It is a good idea. The issue
is that it would make more sense to do the most urgent work first. Some
parts of the water network are in an awful state. That is without even
getting on to talking about the sanitation network, which is equally bad.
It makes sense to fix the worst parts as a matter of urgency, and then fit
water meters as you go along.
Homeowners should certainly be incentivised to conserve. The best
way to do this is to allow low users to opt in to having a water
meter in the short-term.

Mr McNicholas said there was one final estimate of 539m

for water meter installation and would hit this figure.
He said there was a reason for the 100m gap:
* the estimate was made before survey details from local
authorities were received;
* three regional contracts to spread the workload;
* contractors wouldn't sign up for the bid price.
Mr McNicholas said the company want to the market in a
full procurement process.
He said Irish Water has installed 500,000 water meters half of the total.
He said there are a "number of pockets", mainly in the
Cork or Dublin, area where work is being held up by
protesters.
Mr McNicholas said Irish Water will come in on budget at
539m.
"At the moment we are on target and ahead of budget," he
said.
Mr McNicholas holds shares in and is an adviser to NTR
plc. That company carries out water meter and wastewater installation.
He said his involvement with NCR is solely in an advisory

capacity.
"Anything else would be a conflict of interest," he said.
Mr McNicholas said he is complying with the code of
conduct for Irish Water.
"It removes any perception," he said.

HALF a million water meters have been

installed across the country and Irish Water
expects to have completed its installation
programme by early 2016.
And data shows the location of the 20 houses found to be
using a total of one million litres of water a day - the
equivalent amount used by the 9,000 people living in
Gorey, Co Wexford.
The homes are across seven counties and include one
property found to be leaking an astonishing 89,000 litres
of water a day - the equivalent usage of more than 600
people.
Householders were unaware of the problem, because the
water was often flowing underneath driveways or gardens
and never pooled on the surface.
Irish Water says that metering data analysed to date
suggests that one in ten homes has a leak.
It comes as Bord Gais underestimated the cost of the
metering programme by more than 100m. Figures
provided to the Department of the Environment put the
cost at 431.56m. But just weeks later it was revealed that
the final cost would run to 539m.
Meanwhile, research shows that half of leaks identified by
Irish Water involve faulty cisterns, where the toilet
continually fills. The remaining leaks are in pipes leading
from the mains to the property, meaning they will be
eligible for the company's 'first fix free' policy that begins
in January next year.
Some 51m has been set aside for the programme, but this
figure is likely to increase as more leaks are located.
Because so many are minor in nature, it means that Irish
Water will be able to advise householders on simple steps

to eliminate the problem, which could be as minor as

replacing a washer.
Irish Water boss John Tierney told the Irish Independent
that the metering programme had provided valuable data
on the extent of the leakage rates across the system.
Almost 50pc of all treated water was being lost, he said.
This included leaks in the mains, and in private properties.
But in some parts of the country an astonishing 70pc of all
water was being lost. In one part of Roscommon, 72pc of
all treated water leaks into the ground.
"One of the benefits of the metering programme is it
shows changes in consumption patterns - that now means
that the perceived leakage in the public system is higher
than thought," he said.
"The metering still has significant benefits from the point
of view of the information it's giving us on the system."
All Irish Water customers will pay an annual flat charge of
160 for a single person and 260 for a household with
two or more adults until the end of 2018.
Each home in the State will also receive a 100 'water
conservation grant' which can be used to install watersaving devices such as dual flush toilets, or to pay the bill.
However, where meters are installed and the amount of
water used is valued at less than the flat charge, the
household will receive a rebate.
The meters are being rolled-out in two phases - the first
began in August 2013 and involves 1.1 million homes being
metered by 2016. This includes 48,000 apartments which
Irish Water believes can be easily metered.
The second phase will involve properties considered more
difficult to meter, including terraced houses and
apartments. Irish Water has examined various ways to
meter these homes, and will seek permission from the
water regulator in 2017 to carry out the works.

TAOISEACH Enda Kenny said that under

Fianna Fil's water policy "everybody could
leave their taps on" and the taxpayer would
be expected to foot the bill.
Mr Kenny hit out at the rival party's policy of abolishing
water charges, calling it a return to "populism" for Fianna
Fil.
21/09/2016

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin. Photo: Gerry Mooney

In a briefing to reporters he reiterated that Fine Gael

supports a single utlity to provide water services,
conservation measures through metering, and a "fair and
affordable contribution" from households.
An Expert Commission is currently examining the future
of funding water services.
Fianna Fil has made a submission calling for charges to
be scrapped.
Mr Kenny said that under these circumstances water
would have to be funded by the central exchequer.
"It would mean that effectively that everybody could leave
their taps on and the public would be expected to pay for
whatever the outcome would be," he added.
In other issues covered Mr Kenny said that the Citizenz'
Assembly to discuss the Eighth Amendment will meet for
the first time on Saturday October 15.
Chaired by Supreme Court judge Mary Laffoy, it will
examine the law that bans abortion, giving equal status to
the lief of a mother and an unborn child.
Mr Kenny says he looks forward to receiving its
conclusions.
On Brexit, Mr Kenny said he believes the British

government will trigger Article 50 - the beginning of their

process of leaving the EU - early next year, but that it's a
matter for the Prime Minister Theresa May.
He reiterated that the Budget here will have to be Brexitproofed.
Mr Kenny was asked about Finance Minister Michael
Noonan's hospitalisation for cullulitis last week.
He said that Mr Noonan has assured him of his fitness to
work and that he trusts him to tell him if he is not able to
work for health reasons.
He said Mr Noonan is to meet his British counterpart
Philip Hammond tomorrow to discuss Brexit.
Mr Kenny said that the north inner city taskforce - set up
to support the area amid the spate of gangland killings this
year - is "an issue that I've taken very much to heart."
He said he's had several meetings with the commintiy and
said their resilience is "quite incredible".
"The area's been given a bad name by a small percentage
of people," he said,
Mr Kenny said he's against the legalisation of drugs but is
in favour of medically supervised injection centres.

Fianna Fil has been joined by Sinn Fin

and the Anti-Austerity Alliance/People
before Profit in calling for water charges to
be abolished and households to be refunded
bills that they have already paid.
He said: "No motion can scrap water charges. Only a
money Bill can scrap water charges.
Mr Martin was speaking at the beginning of his party
think-in in Co Carlow.
He pointed our that only governments can propose money
Bills for a Dil vote. Sinn Fin's opposition motion will be
debated in the Dil on September 28.
I think Sinn Fin are play-acting in relation their
particular motion. Motions on their own cannot get rid of
charges. Only legislation can, Mr Martin added.

An Expert Commission is currently examining the future

of funding water services under the terms of Fianna Fils
confidence and supply agreement facilitating the
minority Fine Gael government.
Fianna Fils submission to that commission has called for
the abolition of charges.
However, Mr Martin confirmed his party will vote against
Sinn Fins motion to be debated in the Dil next week.
We're not into optics, we're into action, he said when
asked about the contradiction in its policy and their plan
to oppose the Sinn Fin motion.
Mr Martin added: We're the only party that's effected an
outcome on water - ie. the ending of the water charges
regime.
That has now happened because of our decision in
entering into the agreement with Fine Gael to ensure that
that would happen.
Water charges are suspended until after the Expert
Commission reports and TDs debate the groups findings.
Mr Martin said its unlikely that water charges will
return at that point.
The only way water charges can be re-introduced is via
legislation by the Dil and that is unlikely given the
configuration of parties within the Dil, he said.
The parties have told the Expert Commission on Water
Charges that no household should have to pay for water
and that general taxation should be used to provide the
700m a year needed to upgrade the network and annual
operating costs of some 1bn.
The submissions were sent to the expert group which must
report to a special Dil committee next November.
The final decision on whether charges will return or be
abolished will be put to a Dil vote next year. The
Government suspended domestic water charges for nine
months from July as a condition of Fianna Fil support for
a minority government.
Fianna Fil had previously argued that charges should be
suspended until the network was brought up to standard.

But the party, which previously accepted the principal of

charging as part of the troika bailout, now wants them to
be permanently abolished.
Its submission, 'A fairer way to a sustainable water
infrastructure in the 21st century', says all overdue bills
are a "legal charge and should be paid".
But significantly, it indicates it is in favour of refunding
those who have already paid their bills by way of a tax
credit. This has been a contentious issue for many months.
"The expert water commission should provide examples of
mechanisms to refund bill payers, such as through a tax
credit, or give a clear outline of the feasibility of pursuing
non-payment based on international best practice
examples," the document says. Signed by the party's
environment spokesman Barry Cowen, the submission
says charges should be ended and the revenue loss of some
270m a year compensated by government funding.
"Irish Water should remain solely in public ownership,"
the party added.
Sinn Fin leader Gerry Adams said Fianna Fil's position
on water charges represented a U-turn.
His party also wants charges to be abolished, the metering
project to be ended and a referendum to be held to
enshrine the water network in public ownership.
Sinn Fin also accused the expert commission of working
to a "pre-determined outcome",
The resignation of its original chairman, Joe O'Toole, over
comments he made about supporting water charges and
the "short timeframe" for submissions to be made meant
the party was "concerned" about its independence and
credibility.
Fine Gael has supported the retention of charges and
raised concerns that if charges were abolished it could
result in fines from the EU.
"Fine Gael believes that after the establishment of Irish
Water and the introduction of domestic water charges a
decision to permanently abolish water charges would leave
Ireland financially exposed to EU compliance

proceedings," it said.
The Labour Party said charges should be retained, with
free allowances and exemptions for low-income
households, families with young children or people with a
disability.
The AAA/PbP said the State should fund services, with
local authorities operating the network.

A new Fianna Fil document on water

charges suggests that bill payers should be
refunded through a tax credit
The document, entitled 'A fairer Way to a sustainable
water infrastructure in the 21st century', was circulated to
TDs and senators at lunchtime on Monday.
It was submitted to the new expert commission on water
charges which is due to sit in the coming weeks.
The document, a copy of which has been obtained by
independent.ie, says all overdue bills are a "legal charge
and should be paid".
Significantly, the party indicates that it is in favour of
refunding those who have already paid their bills. This has

been a contentious issue within political circles for many

months.
"The expert water commission should provide examples of
mechanisms to refund bill payers such as through a tax
credit or give a clear outline of the feasibility of pursuing
non-payment based on international best practise
examples," the document says.
"The best method of what will happen to non-payers must
be fully addressed by the Dil committee."
Signed by the party's Environment spokesperson Barry
Cowen, the submission says charges should be "ended and
the revenue loss compensated by an increase in the
exchequer subvention."
"Irish Water should remain solely in public ownership,"
the party says.
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said on Monday that Fianna
Fil's position on water charges represents a u-turn.
There are now serious questions now been asked.
Water charges are unlikely to be returned, the leader of
Fianna Fil has declared, ahead of a special commission
deciding on the future of water services and how they
should be funded writes Juno McEnroe.
FIANNA Fil won't be supporting Sinn Fin's Dil motion to
abolish water charges, Michel Martin has said, describing
the rival party's move as "play-acting".
He said: "No motion can scrap water charges. Only a
money Bill can scrap water charges.
Mr Martin was speaking at the beginning of his party thinkin in Co Carlow.
He pointed our that only governments can propose money
Bills for a Dil vote. Sinn Fin's opposition motion will be
debated in the Dil on September 28.
I think Sinn Fin are play-acting in relation their particular
motion. Motions on their own cannot get rid of charges.
Only legislation can, Mr Martin added.
An Expert Commission is currently examining the future of
funding water services under the terms of Fianna Fils
confidence and supply agreement facilitating the
minority Fine Gael government.
Fianna Fils submission to that commission has called for

the abolition of charges.

However, Mr Martin confirmed his party will vote against
Sinn Fins motion to be debated in the Dil next week.
We're not into optics, we're into action, he said when
asked about the contradiction in its policy and their plan to
oppose the Sinn Fin motion.
Mr Martin added: We're the only party that's effected an
outcome on water - ie. the ending of the water charges
regime.
That has now happened because of our decision in
entering into the agreement with Fine Gael to ensure that
that would happen.
Water charges are suspended until after the Expert
Commission reports and TDs debate the groups findings.
Mr Martin said its unlikely that water charges will return
at that point.
The only way water charges can be re-introduced is via
legislation by the Dil and that is unlikely given the
configuration of parties within the Dil, he said.
Michel Martin also confirmed his party will not back Sinn
Fein motion in the Dail next week to abolish water
charges, even though Fianna Fil wants to ultimately scrap
bills for households.
He was speaking at the opening of the Fianna Fil pre-Dail
conference, which begins today in Carlow.

A government-appointed commission on water charges is

due to produce a report on the future of managing
services in November, after which an Oireachtas
committee will examine the issue.
Mr Martin said that charges, currently frozen, were
ultimately unlikely to be reintroduced down the line.
He said that no motion could scrap water charges and that
only a Dail 'money' bill could abolish billing.
He said the supply and confidence deal with Fine Gael has
essentially got rid of water charges.
The only way that water charges can be reintroduced is
via legislation by this Dail and that is unlikely given the
configeration of parties within the Dail.

He accused Sinn Fein, who are set to introduce a bill to

scrap charges in the Dail next week, of playacting in
relation to their motion.

The 2007 outbreak in Galway cost each household 95

and resulted in one in eight hotel and guesthouse bookings
being cancelled.
One in five people in the city refuse to drink the tap water
today due to concerns about its safety, the study says.
It found that had the water supply to the city and

S
S
S
S

surrounding areas been subjected to an adequate

treatment process costing just 1.6m, it would have
resulted in an 11 saving for every 1 invested.
The 'Economic Assessment of the Waterborne Outbreak of
Cryptosporidium Hominis in Galway 2007' study, which
was funded by the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), says the outbreak lasted for 158 days and resulted
in 242 confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis, "although it
was likely the actual number affected was far higher".
Cryptosporidium is a parasite that lives in the intestinal
tract of infected humans and animals. It is shed in faeces,
and contaminates water and soils.
Infection results in diarrhoea, stomach cramps, vomiting
and fever. It can be fatal for those with compromised
immune systems. The city's supply became infected by
human and animal waste in March 2007, and the outbreak
lasted until the following August. The report found:
There were 242 notified cases of cryptosporidiosis, with
another 497 non-reported cases.
45,160 households were affected, and around 120,000
people.
There was an 80pc increase in bottled water consumption
during the outbreak, with a spend of 3.5m. Another
400,000 was spent boiling water.
Hotels and guesthouses were obliged to provide 4.2 litres
of water per day to guests, and the hospitality industry
bore costs of 50,000 per day.
Cryptosporidium remains a problem across the country,
with the latest data showing that 17 water supplies require
upgrades to remove the threat.
The report, compiled by researchers at NUI Galway with
an official from the HSE, found that households bore costs
totalling 3.9m, the hospitality sector another 8m, while
the local authorities spent almost 6m.
This includes 388,000 to cover the costs of installing a
treatment process to remove the dangerous bug from
water.
When the capital investment needed to install the

treatment was taken into account, the total cost of making

the water safe was 1.6m.
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND
SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS A
Blueprint to Safeguard Europe's Water Resources

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?
uri=CELEX:52012DC0673&from=EN
Following several complaints from supporters of the Green
Party, let us clarify something.
If you support water charges as they stand (without a
referendum), then you are supporting privatisation of our
water supply.
If you support water charges without protections against
water poverty in place, then you support the targeting of
the poorest in our society.
If you've argued for the continuation of water charges over
the past number of months, then you have supported both
privatisation and water poverty, albeit in some cases
indirectly.
Now if any Political Party has changed their position and
are now saying they oppose water charges without a
referendum, please feel free to contact Right2Water and
let us know. If not, please accept that you are on the
wrong side of history and let's move on.

Water charges must stay - Eamon Ryan

LATEST TV PROGRAMMES TV One News Six One News Nine News
Oireachtas Report Prime Time Claire Byrne Live Morning Edition
Nuacht The Week in

http://www.rte.ie/news/pl
ayer/2016/0425/2097570
8-water-charges-muststay-eamon-ryan/
Project Eagle was Nama's sale of its entire Northern
Ireland loan book to Cerberus, a New York-based private
equity firm specialising in 'distressed investing'. Also the
name of the multi-headed dog preventing the dead from
leaving the underworld.
The whiff surrounding Project Eagle became an
unignorable stench when BBC's Spotlight programme
aired footage of businessman Frank Cushnahan in a car
park allegedly accepting 40,000 in cash from one of
Northern Ireland's wealthiest people. Mr Cushnahan was a
member of Northern Ireland's Nama committee, and the
gentleman with the money was a Nama borrower.
To make matters worse, the Comptroller and Auditor
General (C&AG) has concluded that Nama sold Project
Eagle for about 190m less than it was worth. So Minister
Noonan is to appear before the Public Accounts
Committee, the Irish Government will likely announce a
formal investigation, the FBI is taking a look, as is the
Northern Ireland Assembly - 190m is a chunk of cash, so
all good so far.
But what about the 500m in potential tax avoidance?
Cerberus's Promontoria Eagle Limited, is the Irish Section
110 company that houses Project Eagle. It paid 1.2bn for
loans with a par value of 4.6bn. The 2014 accounts show
this 1.2bn coming from loans from a Japanese and an
Austrian bank, and from 439m of Cerberus's own funds.
It's structured as 'internal' loans from a Cerberus entity in

Luxembourg. Critically, the interest rates on these

'internal' loans can be varied to equal whatever profits
Promontoria Eagle makes leaving it with little taxable
profit in Ireland.
In 2014, Project Eagle borrowers made 112m in interest
payments to Promontoria Eagle (this doesn't include any
capital repayments). After 27m in interest payments to
the Japanese and Austrian banks, Promontoria was left
with a net gain of 85m (a very healthy 19pc return). A
'normal' Irish company would deduct some operating
costs, then pay 30pc in tax, between Irish corporation tax
and Irish withholding taxes. But not here.
And then there's capital gains. Many Dublin
commentators believe the underlying assets of Project
Eagle are worth over 2.2bn today, suggesting 1bn in
capital gains already. For 'normal' Irish companies, this
would be taxed at 25-33pc, when the gains are realised.
But not here. Distressed debt investors typically target 10
year investment periods. So let's roll those 2014 figures
forward for a decade. The 85m would turn into 850m, if
we're conservative. Add the 1bn in capital gains to that
(again let's be conservative and say the underlying assets
don't gain any further in value). So that's about 1.85bn in
gains.
A 'normal' Irish company would pay about 500m tax.
That's about 580m, or one children's hospital, 1,500 new
teachers for a decade or 4,000 in social housing. It's a
huge amount of money. It's close to the entire fiscal space
being allocated to additional spending in the upcoming
budget.
In fact, the total taxes avoided would exceed the amount
Cerberus invested to buy the loan book. Having already
taken a multi-billion euro hit on the loans, the Irish people
should, at least, get these taxes back on the huge profits
being made but not as thing stand.
But as with so many so-called vulture funds, Promontoria
Eagle Limited is not a 'normal' Irish company. It's a
Section 110 company. It can, legally, write off all of those

gains against loan notes located abroad. In 2014, for

example, in spite of its multi-billion pound asset base,
generating tens of millions in gains, the company paid
exactly 1,947 in tax. Were this to continue for 10 years,
instead of the Irish State receiving about 580m in taxes,
it would receive about 0.02m.
And that's for just one Nama sale. Scale this up to the total
assets sold to Section 110 companies and you quickly get a
figure for avoided taxes of 10-20bn. And that's on assets
the Irish people have already incurred losses for in the
tens of billions of euro, and will be repaying for
generations.
Minister Noonan has proposed an amendment to close
down this behaviour, but as it stands, it won't work. It
allows Cerberus revalue (mark-to-market) the Project
Eagle assets to September 5, 2016 at the 0pc, Section 110
rate. With Irish sovereign debt yields at 0pc, a large
accounting firm could produce a comprehensive document
for Revenue, showing the Project Eagle assets to now be
worth 2.2-2.8bn. This would allow hundreds of millions
in capital gains taxes be avoided.
The amendment also allows Cerberus use the S110
structure of classing its 439m investment as an internal
'loan', as long as the interest rate is 'arm's length'. Again, a
large accounting firm could produce a document for
Revenue justifying a 19pc "mezzanine" rate - exactly what's
required to wipe out interest gains of 85m, for example.
As this 'internal loan' is owned by another Cerberus
vehicle in Luxembourg, all the income would be sheltered
from Irish taxes.
As several accounting firms advised their client base on
the proposed amendment, "don't panic... there will be
minimal taxes paid".
To Minister Noonan's credit, he restated in committee
earlier this week that he's open to changing the
amendment. The solutions are relatively simple. For
example, insert the following sentences into the
amendment:

1. Assets may not be mark-to-market to shelter unrealised

capital gains.
2. Only interest on valid third party bank debt financing
will be deductible against income.
Those two sentences, with a few other tweaks, could save
Ireland 10-20bn in lost taxes in the next decade.
So will we get the changes? Hopefully. But smoke bombs
are already being dropped. During committee proceedings
this week, when I pressed on why Cerberus would be
allowed revalue its assets, 'advice from the Attorney
General's office' and 'the Constitution', were intoned. In
other words, there is secret legal advice we aren't allowed
show you, that we must follow.
No 'normal' Irish company, and no 'normal' Irish citizen,
gets to revalue their assets to avoid capital gains taxes. In
fact, if this approach was correct, then almost every
change in Irish corporation tax or private tax rates has
been invalid, as everyone should have been allowed to
mark-to-market.
In addition, no 'normal' Irish company, or citizen, is
allowed set up 'variable rate' loans to themselves from
Luxembourg, in order to show that they have no taxable
income after interest payments. It's a nonsense, and it
needs to be stopped, right now.

FF WILL NOT SUPPORT

WATER CHARGES
MOTION
by Gavan Reilly 19th Sep 2016 16:00

That's despite SF's motion reflecting

FF policy
Fianna Fil says it won't support a Sinn Fin motion
in the Dil next week to scrap water charges despite it being party policy.
Michel Martin's accused Sinn Fin of "play acting"
with a motion, due to be debated next week when
the Dil ends its summer recess.
The motion from SF will be non-binding, as only a

"money bill" can affect the status of charges, and

only the Government is empowered to table one.
Speaking as his party gathered in Carlow for a
parliamentary party 'think-in', Mr Martin says
SF motion would have no legal standing:
Fianna Fil leader Michel Martin has today denied claims of
a u-turn over Irish Water.
Well actually, its quite consistent with the manifesto, he said.
If you read the manifesto, it talks about scrapping water
charges, likewise in terms of submission to the Commission
on Taxation.
Asked if he has been in consultation with his party, he
responded: There has been ongoing consultation.
The water policy has been adopted since before the election.
In the aftermath as well weve discussed it obviously in the
context of the Confidence and Supply Agreement [with Fine
Gael] as well.
advertisement

Earlier:
Water charges are unlikely to be reintroduced, the leader of
Fianna Fil has declared, ahead of a special commission
deciding on the future of water services and how they should
be funded, writes Juno McEnroe, Political Correspondent.

Michel Martin also confirmed that his party will not back a
Sinn Fin motion in the Dil next week to abolish water
charges, even though Fianna Fil ultimately wants to scrap
bills for households.

Fianna Fil leader Michel Martin addresses the media prior to the annual
parliamentary party think-in at the Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow. He confirmed
his party will not support a Dil motion by Sinn Fin next week to abolish
water charges. Picture: Conor McCabe

He outlined how his party had effectively delivered the end to

water charges after bills were frozen under the confidence and
supply deal with the Fine Gael-minority government.
A government-appointed commission on water charges is due
to produce a report on the future of managing services in
November, after which an Oireachtas committee will examine
the issue and the Dil may act on it.
Mr Martin said charges, currently frozen, were ultimately
unlikely to be reintroduced.
He said no Dil motion could scrap water charges and that
only a Dil money bill could abolish bills.

He said the confidence and supply deal with Fine Gael had
essentially got rid of water charges.
The only way that water charges can be reintroduced is via
legislation by this Dil and that is unlikely given the
configuration of parties within the Dil, he said.
More than 90 TDs were elected to the Dil this year on
promises to reform or abolish charges.
Fianna Fil, which supported the Government on the basis
that bills were frozen, has told the commission charges should
be abolished. The party rejects claims it has done a U-turn, in
the event of a snap election being called.
Mr Martin said Fianna Fil would remain faithful to the
commission and there would not have been a government
without it being set up.
However, he agreed that, regardless of the outcome of the
commission, water charges were unlikely to be reintroduced.
Mr Martin was asked whether he thought the charges would
be abolished.
I do, but there are other wider issues besides just charges
which fall to be considered, he said.
He accused Sinn Fin, who are set to introduce a bill to scrap
charges in the Dil next week, of playacting in relation to
their motion.
Motions on their own cannot get rid of charges, only
legislation can, he said.
Sinn Fin says its motion presents Fianna Fil with an
opportunity to stop flip-flopping on the issue.
MEP Lynn Boylan said: The reality is we do not have to wait
nine months for a so-called expert commission to recommend
the scrapping of water charges.
The Dil can vote in favour of abolition as early as next week
and, in doing so, deliver what people actually voted for at the

general election in February.

They didnt vote for a suspension of water charges. People
want to see them scrapped.
The Government survived its first key vote of the 32nd
Dil last night to suspend water charges for nine months,
despite criticism from the Opposition.

The vote was won by 59 votes to 38, on foot of Fianna

Fils abstention.
Independent TD Micheal Fitzmaurice voted with the
Government on one of the amendments, despite not
signing up to the deal with the other Independent Alliance
TDs three weeks ago.
A Labour amendment was voted down minutes before by
59 votes to 47, as Fianna Fil abstained after two nights of
debate.
During the exchanges last night, Public Expenditure
Minister Paschal Donohoe said the abolition of water
charges will mean limited tax revenues will have to be redirected from crucial services in order to fill the hole.
He severely criticised Sinn Fin for engaging in the politics
of old rather than acting in the best interests of the
country. This has nothing to do with water. This is more to
do with the politics of old and if we suspend water

charges, then tax revenues will have to be re-directed

from elsewhere, he said.
Mr Donohoe became embroiled in heated exchanges with
Sinn Fin TD Dessie Ellis, who he accused of shouting
down anyone who disagreed with his position.
Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar said a water
charges system based on how much people use is what is
needed. He said there is agreement more investment in
water is required but said water charges is the best way to
fund that investment.
Junior minister Damien English called on TDs to use the
nine-month period to arrive at a consensus as to decide
the future of Irish Water. The shouting and roaring hasnt
gotten us anywhere. We accept mistakes have been
made. But lets have the conversation as to how to get it
right, he said.
He denied the privatisation of Irish Water is the Fine Gael
agenda, as claimed by Opposition TDs.
Clare Daly slammed Mr Donohoes comments. She said
the previous governments efforts to cut the tax bills for
high income earners and big corporations undermines his
credibility.
A host of Sinn Fin TDs voiced their desire to have charges
scrapped, saying that is the will of the people.
Dublin Central TD Mary Lou McDonald criticised Fianna
Fils U-turn on charges and pre-election commitments to
abolish Irish Water.
Cork South Central TD Donnchadh Laoghaire also piled
on the pressure on Fianna Fil.
I listened to some of the Fianna Fil contributions to the
debate last night. They seemed rather sore and their
contributions were worthy of pantomime season in the
Everyman Theatre or the Gaiety Theatre, he said.
We heard of magic money, grandstanding, and empty
rhetoric. It was all very entertaining stuff but it was part
of a vain attempt to distract from the fact that Fianna Fil
will vote with the Government against a simple and clear
motion calling for the end of water charges and the end of
Irish Water, which will not fool anyone, he added.
Independent Cork North Central TD Mick Barry added his
voice in opposition to the water charges regime.
Earlier, Sinn Fin and the Right to Water campaign held a

rally outside the Dil.

Independent TD Michael Lowry was jeered as he made his
way through the crowd on his way to Leinster House.
A short time later, former environment minister Alan Kelly
was also subject to jeering from the crowd of several
hundred people .

It is understood Independent TD John Halligan has agreed to

support a Government counter-motion on the subject of water
charges.
Earlier: An independent junior minister has said that he is
likely to vote against the Government in the Dil this week.
Waterford TD John Halligan said that he will probably support
a cross-party motion signed by 39 TDs, calling for the
immediate abolition of domestic water charges.

The motion is set to go to a vote in the Dil on Wednesday

night - just seven days after Halligan was appointed to a junior
ministry at the Department of Jobs.

He said that although he has not yet seen the cross-party

motion, he supports its views.
"I think I will be voting in favour of it, because I don't think it's
fir for purpose, Irish Water," he said.
"I'll have to have a look at the motion, I haven't seen it yet to
be quite frank with you, and see exactly what the wording of it
is,
"Remember that there are free votes in the Dil now the whip
has been removed and we have to have a vote of
conscience and in conscience I don't agree with Irish Water
and it should be scrapped."
The motion states: That Dil ireann notes that a majority of
Deputies elected to the 32nd Dil made clear pre-election
pledges to end water charges; and calls on the Government
to:
immediately abolish domestic water charges;
establish a public water and sanitation board to deliver
water on the basis of need; and
set a date for a referendum to enshrine the public
ownership of water services in the Constitution of Ireland.
Legislation to suspend water charges has been agreed by
the Cabinet. From June 30, homeowners will no longer be
sent bills for at least nine months.

Terms for a commission to examine the future of charges

as well as that of Irish Water are also set to be finalised
next week.
Housing Minister Simon Coveney brought details of the
legislation to suspend charges before his Cabinet
colleagues, which will be published later this week.
The particulars of the Water Services Bill were essentially
agreed between Fine Gael and Fianna Fil during the
government formation talks and specifically the supply
and confidence agreement.
A Government spokesman yesterday said charges would
be suspended by June 30. But a spokesman for Mr
Coveney said this was not conclusive as the date would
depend on when the legislation passed through the
Houses of the Oireachtas.
Under the Fine Gael and Fianna Fil deal, charges will be
suspended for nine months while a commission examines
them. Its recommendations will then be referred to an
Oireachtas committee. The Dil will then vote on that
committees final recommendations.
Mr Coveney has already indicated that the period of
suspension could be longer than nine months. This would
likely be the case if the commission or committees work
did not finish during that time.
Elsewhere, the Cabinet yesterday approved two weeks

paternity leave to be introduced in September. This will

allow fathers take leave with welfare payments.
Separately, Health Minister Simon Harris also had
legislation to outlaw the possession of certain prescription
drugs without authorisation agreed at Cabinet. This will
essentially fast- track a ban on the use of benzodiazepines
and Z drugs, where there is no prescription, a move that
has been sought by garda and drug addiction support
groups in urban areas, particularly in Dublin.
Benzodiazepines and z- drugs are controlled under
existing misuse of drugs legislation whereby it is illegal to
sell them without a prescription. Extending this legislation
will make it an offence to possess the drugs without a
prescription.
Reviews of legislation on the possession of certain
prescription drugs began in 2013, but were derailed by a
constitutional court challenge which overturned existing
drug laws. Emergency legislation reinstated those last
year, but complicating factors put back work on banning
the street use of certain prescription drugs.
Fianna Fil TD Thomas Byrne has said he believes water
charges are gone and will not be back.
Fianna Fil is holding its parliamentary party think-in
today.
Housing, credit availability for businesses, and the UK's
BREXIT vote will be among the issues on the agenda at
Fianna Fil's meeting of TDs and Senators in Co Carlow
today and tomorrow, with water charges also likely to
feature.
On Saturday, tens of thousands took part in a national
demonstration in Dublin city calling for water charges to
be abolished.
The charges were suspended by the Government earlier
this year pending the outcome of an expert commission.
Last week, Minister Simon Coveney said the way the water
is paid for would have to change.
However, Fianna Fil TD Thomas Byrne (pictured) said he

believed water charges were gone for good.

He said: "We're quite satisfied we have dealt with water
charges in a way that will broadly meet the approval of
most people.
"I believe water charges are gone and I dont believe
they're coming back...At the moment, there's no majority
possible in the Dil to reintroduce water charges. That's
the political reality that we accept."

Howlin denies water charges u-turn as

he announces 'fresh agenda for
Labour'
Friday, September 23, 2016

Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin has denied making a

u-turn over the party's position on water charges.

Brendan Howlin has said that Labour wants a free

allowance to cover a family's needs, with charges for
people who use excessively beyond that.

The overhaul of charges under party colleague and former

Minister Alan Kelly saw a free allowance for adults being
scrapped.
Brendan Howlin has said that was a compromise Labour
had to reach in Government.
"We certainly made compromises in the last five years,
we've acknowledged that," he said.
"What we're now setting out is a fresh agenda for Labour.
We're asking people to support that, because the greater
support we get, the more of that policy platform that will
be fresh, that will be progressive, will be implemented."
Water charges are unlikely to be reintroduced, the
leader of Fianna Fil has declared, ahead of a special
commission deciding on the future of water services and
how they should be funded.

Michel Martin also confirmed that his party will not back a
Sinn Fin motion in the Dil next week to abolish water
charges, even though Fianna Fil ultimately wants to scrap
bills for households.
He outlined how his party had effectively delivered the
end to water charges after bills were frozen under the
confidence and supply deal with the Fine Gael-minority
government.
A government-appointed commission on water charges is
due to produce a report on the future of managing
services in November, after which an Oireachtas
committee will examine the issue and the Dil may act on
it.
Mr Martin said charges, currently frozen, were ultimately
unlikely to be reintroduced.
He said no Dil motion could scrap water charges and that
only a Dil money bill could abolish bills.
He said the confidence and supply deal with Fine Gael
had essentially got rid of water charges.
The only way that water charges can be reintroduced is
via legislation by this Dil and that is unlikely given the
configuration of parties within the Dil, he said.

Fianna Fil leader Michel Martin addresses the media

prior to the annual parliamentary party think-in at the
Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow. He confirmed his party will not
support a Dil motion by Sinn Fin next week to abolish
water charges.
More than 90 TDs were elected to the Dil this year on
promises to reform or abolish charges.
Fianna Fil, which supported the Government on the basis
that bills were frozen, has told the commission charges
should be abolished. The party rejects claims it has done a
U-turn, in the event of a snap election being called.
Mr Martin said Fianna Fil would remain faithful to the
commission and there would not have been a government
without it being set up.
However, he agreed that, regardless of the outcome of the
commission, water charges were unlikely to be
reintroduced.
Mr Martin was asked whether he thought the charges
would be abolished.
I do, but there are other wider issues besides just charges
which fall to be considered, he said.
He accused Sinn Fin, who are set to introduce a bill to
scrap charges in the Dil next week, of playacting in
relation to their motion.
Motions on their own cannot get rid of charges, only
legislation can, he said.

Sinn Fin says its motion presents Fianna Fil with an

opportunity to stop flip-flopping on the issue.
MEP Lynn Boylan said: The reality is we do not have to
wait nine months for a so-called expert commission to
recommend the scrapping of water charges.
The Dil can vote in favour of abolition as early as next
week and, in doing so, deliver what people actually voted
for at the general election in February.
They didnt vote for a suspension of water charges.
People want to see them scrapped.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/howlin-denies-watercharges-u-turn-as-he-announces-fresh-agenda-for-labour-756204.html

Thousands of people are expected to take part in a

national demonstration against water charges in Dublin
this afternoon.

Groups from around the country are convening at Connolly

and Heuston Stations at 2pm, where they will then march
to St Stephen's Green.

Finian McGrath makes U-turn on Irish Water

charges
New super junior Minister says he will pay bills, after
consulting Attorney General

Finian McGrath: decision to settle bills was largely a political one.

An Independent Minister who sits at the Cabinet table has

performed a U-turn on his decision not to pay water
charges.
Jack Chambers, TD for Dublin West, is only 25 years old one of the youngest TDs elected to the Dil in February.

Speaking on the Marian Finucane show yesterday morning,

the Fianna Fil TD was asked if he had paid the water
charges - he hadnt but his reasoning was a little different
that most.
Chambers actually still lives at home so his mam is the
one paying the charges.
Many listeners were not impressed.
Follow

lucius sweet
All of you making fun of Jack Chambers for still living at
home, but I bet his underwear and socks are FAR cleaner
than yours.
7:52 PM - 8 May 2016

Retweets11 11 likes
Follow

una dunphy
11:56 AM - 8 May 2016

R
View image on Twitter

Follow

Hopeless Surfer
Just caught up with the comment from Jack Chambers on
why he didn't have to pay an bill
R

9:19 AM - 9 May 2016

5 5 Retweets4 4 likes

8 May

Oireachtas Retort
dear god
https://
twitter.com/KarlBrophy/sta
tus/729263305504788480

Follow

Oireachtas Retort
25 year olds not entitled to full jobseekers & 25 year olds
who live with their ma given seats in parliament. 'millennial'
is not a thing.
R

12:32 PM - 8 May 2016

4 4 Retweets12 12 likes

8 May

Oireachtas Retort
dear god
https://
twitter.com/KarlBrophy/sta
tus/729263305504788480

Follow

Sarah
12:37 PM - 8 May 2016

R
But others defended him.
Follow

John Fitzpatrick
Why would he want move out, if he is happy living with his
parents? just cos he is a TD? That's mad stuff Ted.
R

12:55 PM - 8 May 2016

Retweetslikes

http://www.irishexaminer.com/examviral/real-life/this-tdsreason-for-not-paying-his-water-charges-left-manyshaking-their-heads-398463.html

View image on Twitter

Follow

Right2Water Ireland
8:32 PM - 15 Sep 2016

R
Water charges have been suspended by the Government,
pending the outcome of an expert commission.
Organisers of today's march, Right 2 Water say it is also in
protest at the Government's decision to appeal the EU's
ruling on Apple's 13bn tax bill.

Right 2 Water co-ordinator David Gibney says people do

not have confidence that water services will remain State
owned.
"They also still see the future for water services and that is
inextricably linked to the Apple tax scandal," he said.
"So people are making the connection about who this
government represents in terms of the people who benefit
from huge dividends being paid out to shareholders in the
ownership of multinational corporations, and at the same
time subverting democracy and refusing to implement the
abolition of water charges

http://www3.todayfm.co
m/FF-will-not-supportwater-charges-motion
Sinn Fin says only consigning water charges to the rubbish
bin will be acceptable.
The party tonight passed a motion calling for the abolition of
Irish Water and the establishment of a commission to come up
with the best model of public ownership within nine months.
The party has vowed to continue the fight against water
charges if Fine Gael and Fianna Fil reach a compromise that
will see charges remain.
"Sinn Fin from this ard fheis repeats our call for the full
abolition of water charges," said Deputy leader Mary Lou
McDonald.
"Nothing less, no half measures, no convenient fig-leaves will
do."

Follow

andrew mccartney
Mary Lou Mc Donald TD welcoming us to Dublin the city
that fought the empire!
8:07 PM - 22 Apr 2016

1 1 Retweet4 4 likes

Full Mary Lou McDonald speech:

"This weekend we mark the centenary of the Easter Rising.
We meet here in the city that was at the epicentre of the fight
against British rule in Ireland one hundred years ago.
It was in neighbourhoods not far from here that the pauperised
working class, living in run down tenements, took a stand.
In 1913 workers stood for themselves, their dignity; their rights
and were locked out by the bosses.
It was on the streets around here that James Connolly raised
his Citizens Army.
The story of the Rising is etched into the fabric of this city
from the founding of the Irish volunteers in Parnell Square, to
the smuggling of guns at Howth, to the capture of strongholds
around the city from the GPO to Bolands Mill, to the Rebels
last stand at Moore street and the execution of the leaders in
Kilmainham jail.
So welcome to this city, welcome to Dublin the city that
fought the empire.
The rebels, against all odds, against what was deemed the
greatest empire the world had ever seen, struck for our
freedom, in full confidence of victory.
Today we acknowledge their courage, their spirit and their
absolute determination.
It is now our turn, in our time, to rally to the cause of the

Republic, to stand for the Republic again.

The proclamation of the Republic sets out the vision and
promise of a free, and equal Ireland, a truly democratic
Ireland.
A Republic based on religious and civil liberty, equal
citizenship, placing the democratic and unfettered control of
Irish destinies in the hands of the people.
The proclamation is the foundation document of the Republic
and remains the mission statement of Irish Republicans to this
day.
So where stands the Republic in 2016?
What happened to the dream of a free and equal Ireland?
One hundred years on we live in an Ireland that enjoys only
partial freedom.
We live in an Ireland that is deeply divided between the haves
and the have nots.
We live in an Ireland that was partitioned and designed by
those in control to favour those in control.
An Ireland in which almost 2000 children call a B&B or hotel
room home;
Where everyday families face the courts and banks and
vulture funds who threaten to take the roof over their heads;
Where countless families will today, tomorrow and the next
day worry and struggle to meet their household bills and get
by;
We live in an Ireland that remains partitioned.
The border scars the landscape of Ireland and disrupts and
distorts our economic and social development.
It is a legacy issue from the 1920s.
Imposed not by consent but by threat of immediate war and
maintained on the watch of successive indifferent
governments.

It will be removed not by threat or coercion but by agreement,

by persuasion, by positive Republican activism, by reigniting
and reawakening the spirit of the United Irishmen and women,
the spirit of the Easter Rebels, the spirit of Bobby Sands.
The laughter of our children, our children cherished equally
will be the mark of our success, the measure of a Republic
worthy of the name.
Built on our glorious diversity an equal society for every
citizen, women and men, citizens of all abilities and
disabilities, settled and traveller, LGBT and straight, young and
old, black and white, Orange and Green.
The sectarian Orange State in the north is gone.
Every citizen in the North Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter
- is the better for that.
The overbearing conservatism in the South is finally giving
way to a pluralist society.
That we have a chance, a historic opportunity to build a united
Irish Republic by peaceful and democratic means is in no
small part due to the leadership of Republican leaders in our
time.
Please join with me in special recognition of two of those
outstanding leaders - Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams.
Ireland has moved on but it seems that the old guard
politicians havent caught up.
The last eight weeks have seen farce on a grand scale played
out between Fine Gael and Fianna Fil.
They indulge themselves and each other in a fiction of
difference.
They protest, there are fundamental points of difference
between them.
They protest too much!!
Lets be clear. The only point of difference between these men

is which of them is top dog.

Whilst Enda Kenny and Michel Martin and their colleagues
jockey for position, holding the Dil to ransom, in the real
world life continues apace.
The big issues of the day are left to drift.
February saw a doubling of homeless figures. Youd never
guess that from the demeanour of the two wannabe Taoisigh!!
The recovery which they boast is not felt in the pockets of low
and middle income families.
The last Dil election saw the largest team of Sinn Fin TDs
returned in modern times
Twenty three women and men elected on a manifesto of
change.
Twenty three TDs who will keep our commitments to abolish
water charges;
To end the tax on the family home;
To resource decent healthcare and childcare;
To create decent work and end the scandal of zero hours
contracts and slave wages.
Sinn Fin will talk to anyone, work with everyone who shares
these goals.
We will not sit on our hands or stand idly by.
We will not prop up a Fine Gael government that favours only
the wealthy and disregards the rest.
We will not facilitate the austerity Taoiseach Enda Kenny back
into government and we make no apology for that!!
We will not play the game of make believe that Fianna Fil are
acting responsibly or in the National Interest.
They act only in their own narrow self- interest.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fil want it all their own way.
They have made it repeatedly and abundantly clear that they
dont want Sinn Fin in government we are not worthy it

seems.
But they dont want us leading opposition either.
The bottom line is they just dont want us about the place.
The news for them is that we are here, here to stay, Sinn Fin
is not going away.
Sinn Fin is the leader of opposition to bad government.
Sinn Fin will challenge Fine Gael/Fianna Fil every time they
try to short change the Irish people.
Sinn Fein from this Ard Fheis repeats our call for the full
abolition of water charges, nothing less, no half measures, no
convenient fig leaves will do.
We want to be and we will be part of a government that
champions the people.
We will face the challenge of government when it is afforded to
us by the people with energy and integrity.
We are ambitious for Ireland, optimistic for our country, we
understand the challenges that face workers, families and
communities across the land.
We seek to build our mandate and support from every person
who believes that Ireland can be a better place, that we can
achieve the Republic.
In the spirit of the Rebels a century ago, we meet here in full
confidence of victory."

Eagle's potential loss

bigger than 190m
Making a few important changes to the

Finance Act could mean huge gains for

the state, writes Stephen Donnelly
Stephen Donnelly
PUBLISHED
25/09/2016

1
Finance Minister Michael Noonan. Photo: Tom Burke

The potential loss of 190m to the state

from Project Eagle is getting much attention.
But there's a much bigger loss to the state
from Project Eagle about 500m in
potential tax avoidance. And unlike the
190m, that 500m can be brought in, if we
just make a few important changes to the
Finance Act in October.
So not only did NAMA give away 6 billion worth of property
for just over 1 billion, we also sustained losses into the
millions...
Over 690 million in losses...
"The potential loss of 190m to the state from Project

Eagle is getting much attention. But there's a much bigger

loss to the state from Project Eagle about 500m in
potential tax avoidance."
These are actual millions people. Millions of euros of your
money just lost like that.
And still nothing on the bigger catastrophe that cost us
even more...
Project Arrow...

http://www.independent.i
e/opinion/analysis/eagles
-potential-loss-biggerthan-190m35076379.html
Its also the publics fault Labour failed so says Leader Brendan
Howlin.
In the daily Fine Gael newsletter, formally called the Irish Independent,
Howlin said his partys disastrous election happened in part because
many Irish people had stopped listening to Labour.
Who can blame people for turning off from Labour, with all the crap
they have pulled and continue to pull including matters related to
#AppleTax, bullied in water meters and Irish Water recharging never
mind the 64 BILLION bank debt they also slapped the public with?
Labour have the stupidity and the arrogance to think its also the publics
fault they failed?
If only they had that much balls to stand up instead, to Fine Gael and
the EU previously! No they decided to take a once left-wing party to
the right repeatedly!
Labour talking schite and still spinning their crap down upon a
nation!
The people of Ireland are DAMN RIGHT to stop listening to their crap.
Any person willing to join Labour is a god-damn fool!
On the last day of the Labour think-in Brendan Howlin has said that as
the party leader, he would be happy to work with Fianna Fail if it moved
more to the left. Thats nice isnt it?
Seeing as Labour has been for the last five years, pushing EU right-wing
policies and Fine Gael right-wing policies how about Labour try

moving to the left where it should always have been in the first damn
place!
Labour hopes to increase its membership numbers to 8,000. For the
moment, I think they are living in a dream-world of their own making
on this. This is not to say they wont do it just in order to do it, the
amount of PR spin, the repeated buckets of forthcoming crap thrown
out to achieve it, are going to be sky high!
Dont forget that Labour too is rejecting the #Appletax 13 Billion thats
owed to the people while Labour was also party to ramming on
people, a 64 Billion bank debt that civilians had NO part in creating in
the first place.
Like other parties, Labour too seems to think we are all beneath them
and complete thick! They are sure treating us this way? How? Well
Howlins latest statement is that he believes a free water allowance
should be given to families, with charges for any excess used (same
thinking as Green Party, also supporting the multiple recharge racket!).
Hang on though If memory serves me right and Im not going senile,
when the Irish Water racket was first started, FG and Labour stated the
people would get a water allowance but then they sneakily withdrew it
without any public announcement! Now Labour is not only u-turning
again but trying on the same PR stunt allowance once more!
(NOTE: In order to get this allowance, you will of course, have to
register with Irish Water, enter into a legal contract, sign your name
thus giving Irish Water your legal recognition of them thus allow them
to recharge you and admit against yourself that you are liable for this
recharge!)
Just how thick do they think we, the public, are?
Its just one more OLD POLITICS sly stunt, one after another. Labour
admits they made mistakes in the past? They are STILL making them
and we are STILL seeing them!
They havent changed much at all. Just the PR crap is being reworded or
regurgitated!
Labour members and supporters can go away! My feelings have not
changed there either
Its also the publics fault Labour failed so says Leader Brendan
Howlin.
In the daily Fine Gael newsletter, formally called the Irish Independent,
Howlin said his partys disastrous election happened in part because
many Irish people had stopped listening to Labour.
Who can blame people for turning off from Labour, with all the crap
they have pulled and continue to pull including matters related to
#AppleTax, bullied in water meters and Irish Water recharging never
mind the 64 BILLION bank debt they also slapped the public with?
Labour have the stupidity and the arrogance to think its also the publics
fault they failed?
If only they had that much balls to stand up instead, to Fine Gael and
the EU previously! No they decided to take a once left-wing party to

the right repeatedly!

Labour talking schite and still spinning their crap down upon a
nation!
The people of Ireland are DAMN RIGHT to stop listening to their crap.
Any person willing to join Labour is a god-damn fool!
On the last day of the Labour think-in Brendan Howlin has said that as
the party leader, he would be happy to work with Fianna Fail if it moved
more to the left. Thats nice isnt it?
Seeing as Labour has been for the last five years, pushing EU right-wing
policies and Fine Gael right-wing policies how about Labour try
moving to the left where it should always have been in the first damn
place!
Labour hopes to increase its membership numbers to 8,000. For the
moment, I think they are living in a dream-world of their own making
on this. This is not to say they wont do it just in order to do it, the
amount of PR spin, the repeated buckets of forthcoming crap thrown
out to achieve it, are going to be sky high!
Dont forget that Labour too is rejecting the #Appletax 13 Billion thats
owed to the people while Labour was also party to ramming on
people, a 64 Billion bank debt that civilians had NO part in creating in
the first place.
Like other parties, Labour too seems to think we are all beneath them
and complete thick! They are sure treating us this way? How? Well
Howlins latest statement is that he believes a free water allowance
should be given to families, with charges for any excess used (same
thinking as Green Party, also supporting the multiple recharge racket!).
Hang on though If memory serves me right and Im not going senile,
when the Irish Water racket was first started, FG and Labour stated the
people would get a water allowance but then they sneakily withdrew it
without any public announcement! Now Labour is not only u-turning
again but trying on the same PR stunt allowance once more!
(NOTE: In order to get this allowance, you will of course, have to
register with Irish Water, enter into a legal contract, sign your name
thus giving Irish Water your legal recognition of them thus allow them
to recharge you and admit against yourself that you are liable for this
recharge!)
Just how thick do they think we, the public, are?
Its just one more OLD POLITICS sly stunt, one after another. Labour
admits they made mistakes in the past? They are STILL making them
and we are STILL seeing them!
They havent changed much at all. Just the PR crap is being reworded or
regurgitated!
Labour members and supporters can go away! My feelings have not
changed there eitherSo.Irish water was a mistake but youll stick
with it anyway.
Lesson learnt
The funniest thing about this article is Mr Howlin is under the illusion

that his party is still relevant. Burton / Gilmore & his tiny self have
cannibalised their party. He was all too willing to support FGs agenda
to the detriment of Labour supporters. Water charges is one mistake
among many; far too late now Mr Howlin for contrition. Labour are
dead rip
So basically Labour have learned nothing from their defeat. To use the
old Fianna Fail excuse we made mistakes. Alan Kelly was a fair
reflection of the attitude in the Traitor party. As for misread the mood
Labour were told on a daily bases how the mood was and choose to
ignore it.
All this piece does is show us that even after such an election defeat the
Traitor party still the same party.
Brendan howlin..is there a more arrogant patronising short arsed little
jerk in the whole of Ireland ??? Who voted for this ahole
Politics that is the way the game works out sometimes, sums up all
that is rotten in Irish politics. Playing party politics placing people on
state or semi state boards because they are paid up party member.
Qualifications mean nothing when party leaders want to play games
with peoples futures. This man cant find his way out of a closet, makes
himself leader of labour by default no voting allowed and now must
somehow save labour for a trashing in the next local and European
elections. Here is a man given the Labour Party leadership just to stop
Alan Kelly for totally destroying the party. They failure of the Labour
Party in goverment and how they drenched themselves at every
opportunity in taxpayer money will not be forgotton. These champagne
socialist are back fighting, trying to change history about how they failed
to support workers. From Joan kissing Denniss ring at the NY stock
exchange to kelly loosing it on a power high, who will every forget the
traitors in labour who turned it into the liebour party, a right wing Tory
party who threw away there history for more pensions. As an electorate
we are getting smarter the snake oil salesmens will find it must harder
to keep playing there dangerous games
Fine Gael were of the view that, no, no, once you started charging,
people would simply accept it.
A bit like Enda and FGs lapdog like roll over compliance to Merkel and
the EUs orders. Angela says dont burn the bondholders and Enda says
no problem. EU says shoulder 42% of the burden, Noonan rolls over
immediately. All so they can get a nice big EU job when they have
finished selling out their country.
Just go f##k right off labour..yous are a f##king cancer on
society..mistakes my f$$king arse..yous are not kids but elected
supposedly competent people..you knew f##king only too well what
yous were doing while in government..7 seats for ffs..a message to the
journal please.why are you giving these 7 seater people time ?
In a week where an eighty year old woman dies on a trolley in a corridor
due to overcrowding at Galway hospitals A+E the Mail on Sunday
reveals that the Irish ambassdor to Japan that his apartment in Tokyo

costs 46k a month.the FF/FG/lab cartel should be taken out of the

Dail and individually hosrewhipped.
Noonan going around whispering the country has no money.plenty
of money if your in the golden circletossers
They really made a pigs ear of it Labour.
From a hugely promising position in Irish politics to obscurity in a few
short years.
At least the stringent tones of that shrieking harpy have been silenced.
Deputy Howlin must be joking.His party were strong defenders of the
water charges.Their Education minister caused havoc in the sector
attempting in particular trying to get rid of counselling for 2nd level
students.Joan Burton cut disability allowances,job seekers allowances,
the old age pension, electricity and phone allowances for the
elderly.Joan even got rid of the berievement grant. Neither LABOOUR
nor FINE Gael would even leave the dead alone.
Labours arrogance will never be forgotten.The electorate got rid of
them.Hopefully they never return
This is opposition politics (It was a mistake.). Like FF, Labour are
playing the public on water charges. If either gets back into government,
whatever they said in opposition will be sacrificed to urgent pressing
economic/fiscal situation. This is the same party who claimed what
they were doing was always prudent, even when it contradicted what
they said before March 2011, or when they were happy to start giveaway budgets again in the last 18 months before the last general
election. Hows that commitment to doing equality and poverty
evaluations of budgets coming along Brendan? Back on the agenda
again? Just wait for a heart-warming re-discovery of social values and
citizens welfare from FG whenever they go back into opposition.
And the Jobstown trials are another, thanks Joan.
Three broad groups of people in IW debate. The compliant media told
us two. Firstly the people who accepted IW for what it was . No
challenging to see if they were getting value, no idea on future costs.
Plenty of them on here. Second group was the we already pay. Mis use of
monies provided needs accountability. Plenty on here. And the third
ignored by media group. The silent majority. People who look at the cost
of the quango. The inept management. The cost of maintaining the
billing system. Withheld payment as well. Howlin expected people to
roll over. The highly paid advisors all missed the obvious. We will
unfortunately have to add the lost monies to the national debt. They
wont learn the lesson though. They IW goodies have already been
carved out and promised.
So populist politics ( democracy in other words ) is something to be
avoided at all costs. We are to place our trust in a government that ham
fisted its way to setting up yet another bloated utility and threatening
the country so that all people would be pursued through court to pay for
it. Gotcha howlin.

Nah Brendan, dont you worry about the ordinary people. Your hefty
wages and expenses (and pensions) will keep you in smoked salmon and
champagne while the people who trusted you can go to a Labour
sanctioned food bank. Sure Joan loved opening them!
Labour is to all intents and purposes dead. Its few remaining members
are mostly young idealistic uber liberal students. It spectacularly
capitulated to FG once in power. Its elected reps ignored the warning of
its more principled members that it would end in disaster. In fact,
Labour rejoiced in austerity. This was very obvious on the likes of social
media where its fans went all out to attack those who held left wing
positions as populists Alan Kellys victory celebrations were weird,
putting Cahill in the Seanad silly beyond belief. Their move to a new HQ
a complete balls up. As for Irish Water and housing. If you look at
pictures of the Labour think in, theres only ever a handful of people
present. Still they persist in handing front bench jobs to defeated TDs
like Stagg and Tuffy, who were emphatically rejected by the electorate.
They have no appeal to potential new supporters. Cant see any way
back for them.

The singing of traditional Irish songs late into the night has
become the norm at political party think-ins.

Songs such as The Town I Love so Well and The Rocky

Road to Dublin often feature.
In truth, these events are highly manufactured affairs and
are geared towards achieving some soft publicity ahead of
the Dils return.
Most of the time, these gatherings happen outside Dublin
and the media are afforded an opportunity to mingle with

politicians in a manner that is normally not possible.

Whatever limited value these events have, they are of
most value when the party involved is in government.
Last night, the much- reduced Labour Party took their turn
to open their think-in.
It says a lot about their current reduced station that they
decided to hold it at Dublins Mansion House, a move
some party figures said was to ensure media coverage.
These events are all about the media. If you guys dont
come then there is no point in having them. And now we
are out of government, the appetite to travel is vastly
reduced, so here we are, said one former minister last
night.
While the party claims it entered government in 2011 in
the best interest of the country, the people in their masses
did not deem fit to thank them for their efforts in 2014 at
the local elections or earlier this year in the general
election.
With just seven TDs and even fewer senators, the partys
poll ratings remain stuck below the 10% mark.
The hockeying at the polls forced Joan Burtons departure
as leader and she was replaced by a reluctant Brendan
Howlin.
Further shrinking pains have had to be endured with
letting go of their swanky offices in the Docklands and
many key staff who had served the party over many
years. That their current HQ is a basement is seen by
some as a harsh but accurate metaphor of where they find
themselves.
But all is not lost for the oldest political party in the State.
Howlin is a heavyweight, serious politician who can, even
on an interim basis, steer the party to calmer waters. He
has two and a half years until the next real test, the 2019
local elections, to revive the partys ranks at council level.
If he can restore the Labour Party imprint in former
strongholds such as Cork City, parts of Dublin, and in
Galway, where they were decimated, then the party will
have a viable base from which to rebuild a Dil team.
The one hope the party can have is that Fianna Fil, which
wrecked the country before being decimated in 2011, are
resurgent once again and have the greatest level of public
support of any party in the country.

They, too, can take hope from the return of the Green
Party to the national political stage which proves that
previous toxicity can fade.
Labours Rocky Road to Dublin still lies ahead but it is one
they can overcome.

Irish Water silence on cancelled water

payments
Irish Water has refused to provide figures on how many
people have cancelled their direct debits with the firm
since the Eurostat figures were revealed in July.

Monday, September 07, 2015

The utility declined to confirm any figures on the grounds

that other firms such as the ESB would not be asked to do
so, as it separately emerged that Julys Eurostat decision
to keep Irish Water on the Exchequer books initially noted
that privatisation is ultimately envisaged.
In a statement to the Irish Examiner amid recent claims by
anti-water charge campaigners that thousands of people
who paid their first bills are cancelling their direct debits
due to the low levels of payment nationwide, an Irish
Water spokeswoman said no figures will be made public.
The spokeswoman said that while amending and
updating payment details is a standard function of any

utility, the number of customers choosing to pay by

direct debt is rising.
While customers can alter their payment method from
one bill to the next, the number of customers choosing to
pay by direct debit continues to rise as a total figure and
as a proportion of total customers, said the
spokeswoman.
When it was pointed out that a total figure or proportion of
total customers calculation is not the same as the number
of people who were paying by direct debit who have since
cancelled these financial transfers, the spokeswoman said
no specific figures would be provided.
Responding to the refusal to clarify the situation last night,
a Right2Water spokesperson said there is a lack of
transparency in Irish Waters accounts and in any
democracy this information should be known.
He said the campaign group is aware of a growing number
of people who paid their first bill but are choosing to no
longer pay because they do not believe the utility will
survive, adding that Irish Water has an obligation to
provide this information as it is in a completely different
political scenario to other firms such as the ESB.
A separate controversy beset the under-fire utility
yesterday after it emerged that Julys Eurostat ruling,
which said Irish Water must continue to be on the
Exchequer books, initially noted that privatisation is
ultimately envisaged.
According to records obtained by The Sunday Times under
the Freedom of Information Act, the European statistics
agency drew the conclusion in a preliminary letter it sent
to the Central Statistics Office in July.
The correspondence said the highly controversial
privatisation possibility could be allowed, although it
added that infrastructure ownership could only be
changed by a referendum.
The CSO responded in an email from its assistant director
general, Jennifer Banim, who said that the conclusion was
incorrect and needed to be removed.
There are no statements by the Irish Government that
privatisation is ultimately envisaged.
I would ask that the sentence on privatisation be

removed from the advice letter on the classification of

Irish Water, she said, adding that Eurostats view was
based on an incorrect interpretation of a particular
paragraph in one of the documents provided.

http://www.irishexaminer.
com/ireland/irish-watersilence-on-cancelledwater-payments352390.html
Michel Martins numbers on water charges do not stack
up, but this is not the most important consideration for a
party fighting its way back from the political wilderness,
writes Political Editor Daniel McConnell

Fianna Fil leader Micheal Martin joins members of his

parliamentary party for the 'family
the lauded historian, author, and former advisor to Bertie
Ahern and Brian Cowen tells a great story about how
shameless/ pragmatic Fianna Fil can be when it comes to

power.
It was 2007 and Ahern was chasing his historic third term
in office when all of a sudden he instructed Murphy, as his
speechwriter, to do something odd.
I was surprised when Ahern instructed me to heavily
focus on the environment in drafting his opening address
for the pre-election Fianna Fil ard fheis, says Murphy.
This was hardly the traditional fare for such a speech and
I expressed concerns that the taoiseach might not connect
with the delegates.
Bertie told me he was less worried about those in the
hall and more interested in sending a message to the
Green Party. He told me that he and Seamus Brennan had
been crunching the numbers and they were convinced
that Fianna Fil would need the Greens after the election.
Throughout the subsequent election, Ahern was careful
not to say anything that would exclude the Greens from
his post-election permutations.
In the aftermath of the election, Green Party members
voted overwhelmingly at a special conference to go into
government with Fianna Fil, Murphy says.
Fianna Fil, as we know, went on to steer the economy off
a cliff and, led by Brian Cowen, were booted out of office
in 2011 by a vengeful electorate.

Martin replaced Cowen as leader and took to the task of

rebuilding his party with gusto and considerable success.
Decent local elections in 2014 were followed by a better-

than-expected performance in the general election earlier

this year.
Martin is now unassailable as leader and looks odds-on to
be taoiseach, sooner rather than later.
He now leads the most popular party in the country, which
is a remarkable situation given where party found itself in
2011.
And what is clear is that, for all that has happened to it
since 2011, old-school populism, as Enda Kenny
described it this week, has returned with a vengence to
Fianna Fil.
And I speak directly about the partys stance on water
charges, which amounts to the most blatant of U-turns.
It is not that long ago that the party was in government
with the Green Party, recommending and supporting the
concept of water charges.
In the renegotiated programme for government in the
summer of 2009, the late Brian Lenihan, as finance
minister, committed to a charging system that is fair,
significantly reduces waste, and is easily applied .
Then on his way out of office, Lenihan committed to a
water charges regime in the document which underpinned
the 85bn Troika bailout programme in late 2010.

Fast forward to 2014 and the Fine Gael-Labour

government were on the verge of collapse, given the
unholy mess they had made of the establishment of Irish
Water and the manner in which the charges were to be

introduced.
Spooked by the emergence of hard-left elements such as
Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Paul Murphy, Fianna Fil, Labour,
and Sinn Fin all saw themselves being outflanked on the
left, and they panicked.
In its general election manifesto, entitled An Ireland for
All, Fianna Fil came out in favour of abolishing Irish
Water and scrapping water charges.
Irish Water has been a complete failure on the part of the
Government, the manifesto went. Since it failed the
Eurostat test, the very reason it was set up, it is incapable
of delivering major investment in our water network.
Instead it is imposing a water charges regime where
families are paying for a service that does not deliver,
operated by a quango that simply is not working. People
should not be expected to pay for a service that is not up
to standard.
It went on to offer up some numbers to back up their case.
According to the Department of the Environment the net
cost of scrapping water charges would be of the order of
210m annually, it read. This would be replaced by a
direct state subvention to the new National Water
Directorate, which will be run at an approximate cost of
16.2m per annum. We would also fully provide for the
costs of winding down Irish Water, at a cost of 9.1m and
39 abolish the governments botched Water Conservation
grant to save the state 110m.
It all sounded good but the only problem is the numbers
are worthless. Bunkum. Nonsense.
We all know the stalemate result of the general election
and the subsequent supply and confidence agreement
done between Fine Gael and Fianna Fil, which saw water
charges suspended for at least nine months, to facilitate a
Commission on the future of water charges.
The truth is that water charges are gone for the forseeable
future and sources have told me that a major restructuring
is already under way within Irish Water on the basis that
domestic charges are not coming back any time soon.

Major redeployments from the domestic charges side

have taken place, with the focus now on non-domestic
charges, one senior Irish Water figure told me.
But the true killer for Fianna Fil is that expected
subvention costs to the taxpayer in the absence of water
are way off.
Already, because of the suspension of water charges, the
taxpayer is being hit to the tune of 600m this year to
support Irish Water, as my colleague, Juno McEnroe,
reported on the front page of this paper this week.
The figure for next year is likely to be even higher.
Fianna Fil to date have given no credible means of
meeting this added cost.
As reported by Fiach Kelly in the Irish Times earlier this
month, Fianna Fil proposed to the new Water Commission
that the water system be paid for through general taxation
and that the principle of charging for usage should be
abolished for good.
It marks a move away from its previous position that
charges should only be suspended, as it argued in its
negotiations with Fine Gael earlier this year to facilitate a
minority government led by Kenny, Kelly reported.
The party found itself stung by severe criticism about Uturns and has since tried to soften the blow.
Earlier this week, it emerged that Fianna Fil is not ruling
out supporting the reintroduction of domestic water
charges, senior party sources have confirmed to journalist

Sarah Bardon.
The party, which has been accused of several U-turns in
this area, says that its submission to the expert
commission should not be seen as setting out a
permanent position.
Such inconsistencies undermine the partys expressions of
having learned the lessons of the past and show it is still
willing to abandon prudence in favour of political
expedience.
But when the polls are rewarding them for such shameless
opportunism, on one level it is hard to argue.
Yet, many parts of this country are still paying the cost for
previous crimes committed by Fianna Fil governments,
and such horrors must not be allowed to slip from the
memories.
The bottom line is that when it comes to Fianna Fils
stance on water charges: Populist? Yes. Credible? No.
Irish Water will get a 660m bailout this year but a
decision to suspend water charges could have big
consequences for funding other services next year, warns
Housing Minister Simon Coveney.

His suggestion was backed by Public Expenditure Minister

Paschal Donohoe who said funding for Irish Water would
compete with other demands such as housing.
The pre-budget cautions put Fine Gael directly at odds

with Fianna Fil, which wants water charges suspended

indefinitely. Taoiseach Enda Kenny yesterday accused
Fianna Fil of a reversal to old-school populism in
insisting water charges not be reintroduced.
Funding for Irish Water is being considered by a
commission on water charges, due to report in November.
Mr Coveney said the 2017 position on funding for Irish
Water is dependent on what the commission and a followup Dil committee conclude.
It had been planned that the subvention, or bailout, for
Irish Water would be 479m. Irish Water estimates its
shortfall from water charges to be 181m for this year.
This brings the total subvention needed for Irish Water this
year to 660m, Mr Coveney told the Oireachtas housing
committee.
The 181m shortfall will be plugged by the 110m that
was to go to the water conservation grant, a 58m loan to
Irish Water, and another 13m still to be found.
Mr Coveney said the 110m from the conservation grant
would not be there next year. Lets be honest about this,
if the Oireachtas decides to do away with water charges,
then we still need to progress and deliver on the
significant capital expenditure programme that Irish Water
needs to deliver on, he said.
That will have to come through other revenue raising and
presumably general taxation, which then limits our ability
to spend in other areas and also undermines the water
conservation incentive that comes with having some link
between what people pay and how much they use, never
mind all the issues around water directives.
Funding for Irish Water will be discussed when the
commission reports and in the context of the budget, the
committee was told.
Mr Coveney said: But the choices we make have
consequences, big consequences, because regardless of
what way you cut it, we have to invest billions of euros
over the next five years in water infrastructure and it has
got to be paid for. The only question we have to decide is,
do we pay for that through general taxation; do we pay for
it through a combination of general taxation and direct
charging that tries to incentivise conservation and water
management; or do we go back to a previous charging

system?
He added: There is a big cost if we decide not to have
revenue stream coming from water provision to domestic
houses. There are big consequences in terms of the flow of
money in and out of government.
Separately, Mr Coveney warned local authorities not to
expect the Government to pick up the tab if they reduce
property taxes next year. Some 16 councils cut rates last
year and 11 had done so this year, he said.
The warning on water was also made by Mr Donohoe,
when he told a separate committee about budget
preparations. Water treatment coming directly from
general taxation would directly compete with other
needs including housing, he said.

http://www.irishexaminer.
com/ireland/irish-waterto-get-660m-bailout422244.html

Irish Water has contacted garda over an alleged incident

in which it claims protesters blocked a metering team from
leaving a filling station in Cork.

The utility claims that a group of four people prevented

the metering team from leaving the filling station near
Cork University Hospital and detained the workers for
half an hour.
A caller to 96FMs Opinion Line said the incident took
place at Casement Park on Glasheen Road.
However the caller, who identified himself as Tony, said
that he was one of a group who politely approached the
driver to ask if they were installing meters in the area.
We went over and politely asked him if he was putting in
meters, and your man revved up the truck [and] drove the
truck at us, the caller alleged.
I have been part of this water campaign since the start
and we have never used any violence against these Irish
Water people, we might have a bit of banter with them
and a chat, but weve never used any violence and I want
to make that very, very clear, the caller said.
He denied that the group blocked the van.
We went over to have a conversation with the driver, he
said, and claimed that one worker shouted obscenities at
the group.
In a statement to the Irish Examiner, Irish Water said it is
aware of an incident on Wednesday morning where
members of our metering team were blockaded from
exiting from the vicinity of a filling station close to CUH by
four persons.
The personnel were detained for approximately 30
minutes. The matter has been reported to An Garda
Sochna, the statement read.

http://www.irishexaminer.
com/ireland/irish-waterclaim-staff-blockaded-byprotesters-422418.html
Serious questions for DPP raised by Irish Water letter
Worrying indication of private discussions between Irish Water and
DPP
As defendants who are being prosecuted for false imprisonment

and other charges in relation to a protest against water charges and

austerity, the revelations in today's Sunday Times about a letter
referring to 'high level' discussions between the DPP and Irish Water
are worrying. The DPP is supposed to be absolutely independent.
Having high level discussions with Irish Water, seemingly about
how prosecutions against anti-water meter protesters would be best
pursued, at the very least seems highly irregular and raises a
question mark over the independence of the DPP. Both Irish Water
and the DPP should now explain the nature and number of those
meetings and whether they continue to take place.
The context of this is the political policing we have seen in
response to the anti-water charges movement, with over 200
protesters arrested at anti-water meter protests and revelations of
extensive spying on protesters under Operation Mizen. A 17 year old
defendant faces the final day of his trial for 'false imprisonment' on
Tuesday and could face prison if convicted.

The End
Irish Water has pleaded guilty to failing to implement a
plan to improve drinking water quality in Carraroe in Co
Galway and was ordered to give 3,000 to charity to avoid
a criminal conviction.
The company is being prosecuted by the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) over a delay in completing a 1m
project to deal with a water quality problem in Carraroe.
Earlier this year residents in the Connemara village
received boil water notices.

The much hated utility is floundering, and it will soon sink,

rightly dragging down the Government that spawned it.
It has been revealed that Irish Water is refusing to provide
details on the amount of people who are cancelling their direct
debits on foot of the dismal level of nationwide payment
compliance.
It also emerged today that Eurostats decision to keep the
company on the Governments books also noted that
privatisation is envisaged, despite repeated claims by the
Government that this would not happen.
A spokesman for the company said that no figures will be
revealed regarding the amount of people cancelling direct
debits.
Campaigner groups have added that many people are choosing
not to pay a second bill as they do not believe the company will
exist for much longer.

The prosecution was listed before Judge John O'Neill today

at Dublin District Court.
Irish Water pleaded guilty to charges under EU (drinking
water) regulations that between December 1, 2015 and
January 8 last it failed to comply with a directive issued by
the EPA to implement an action programme approved by
the agency for the improvement of the quality of water for
human consumption from Carraroe public water supply, to
react to parametric values specified for trihalomethanes
(THMs).
THMs are a group of organic chemicals formed when
chlorine is used to disinfect water and reacts with
naturally occurring organic matter in raw water.
An action plan had been approved by the environmental
watchdog agency on Septemebr 9, 2014 but the required
work was not completed by Irish Water until this year.
Prosecution solicitor Maeve Larkin said the offence can
carry a class A fine of 5,000.
Darragh Page, a senior inspector with the EPA, told the
court that in drinking water there should be no more than
100mgs of THMs per litre to be safe.

However tests indicated the levels in the water in Carraroe

were in excess.
There had been an elevated level for several years until
recently, he said.
He agreed with Ms Larkin that the solution was to pre-treat
the water using filtration to take out colour or organic
matter before using chlorine so the by-product THMs are
not formed.
An action plan was agreed with Irish Water but it was not
fully complied with until this year, the court heard. In
January, five weeks after the deadline, Mr Page visited the
treatment plant and saw that it had been unchanged and
the level of THMs still exceeded the standards expected.
The court heard Irish Water had no prior criminal
convictions.
However, in an earlier prosecution by the EPA they were
given the benefit of the Probation Act for a charge
connected to discharge in a Co. Louth stream.
Defence counsel Eoghan Cole said the action plan was
drafted in good faith and it included a time-frame which
was thought realistic.
However, unforeseen problems developed and this was
exacerbated by Irish Water through a breakdown in
communicating that to the EPA.
The delay was caused by difficulties with planning
permission, the court heard. However, Irish Water have
now completed the upgrades at a cost of 1m, counsel
said.
Mr Cole also told the court that the problem with the THM
levels had persisted for a number of years and it was one
which was inherited by Irish Water from Galway County
Council. Irish Water also agreed to pay the EPA's legal and

investigation costs and they co-operated with the EPA, the

defence barrister said, adding that the court has discretion
to consider not recording a conviction.
Judge O'Neill said it was not right that Irish Water took for
granted that there would not be planning permission
difficulties.
However, he agreed to order them make a charitable
contribution rather than imposing a conviction.
He ordered that 3,000 must go to local charity, Aras an
Dara in Carraroe , which helps elderly people with
dementia. Adjourning the case he said that if the money is
donated by September 30 he would apply the Probation
Act, which would spare Irish Water a conviction.
I will keep my options open if that is not done, he added.

http://www.irishexaminer.
com/breakingnews/irelan
d/irish-water-pleadsguilty-after-failing-toimprove-water-quality-inco-galway-755579.html

Sinn Fin has voted in favour of water

charges across the EU in a European
Parliament report penned by Sinn Fin MEP,
Lynn Boylan, today, according to NW MEP
Mariead McGuinness.
Tuesday 8th of September 2015

Paragraph 92 in Boylans report on the

Right2Water initiative calls for Member States
to provide for the application of a charge that
is proportional to the amount of water used.
She pointed out that in recent months, the
party has claimed it would abolish water
charges if elected, yet its four MEPs have
voted in favour of the charge at European
level.
MEP and Vice-President of the European
Parliament, Ms. McGuinness said, "By voting
in favour of this text, Sinn Fein have
demonstrated support for water charges, and
having been written by a member of the Sinn
Fein party, it indicates a U-turn by the party

on water charges.
During the vote, Sinn Fin tried to alter their
position at the last minute, but did not
receive support and the reference to
charging for water based on use will remain
unchanged in the official text.
Fine Gael MEPs Sen Kelly, Mairead
McGuinness, Brian Hayes and Deirdre Clune
re-iterated their support for water and
sanitation services at affordable prices with
McGuinness saying, The right to water is
absolute. Member States have a duty to
provide safe, affordable water services but in
accordance with the need for local authorities
to maintain and improve water services and
better conserve resources. The United
Nations has recommended that charges be
applied to water services so that authorities
can ensure a quality, sustainable supply.
http://www.sinnfein.ie/files/2014/WaterServicesDoc_2014.p
df
Irish Water has pleaded guilty to failing to implement a
plan to improve drinking water quality in Carraroe, Co
Galway.

For drinking water to be safe, there should be no more

than 100mg of THMs per litre. The levels in the water in
Carraroe were in excess.
It was ordered to give 3,000 to charity to avoid a criminal
conviction.
The company is being prosecuted by the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) over a delay in completing a 1m
project to deal with a water quality problem in Carraroe.
Earlier this year, residents in the Connemara village
received boil water notices.
The prosecution was listed before Judge John ONeill
yesterday at Dublin District Court.
Irish Water pleaded guilty to charges under the EU
(drinking water) regulations that, between December 1,
2015, and January 8, 2016, it failed to comply with a
directive issued by the EPA to implement an action
programme approved by the agency for the improvement
of the quality of water for human consumption from
Carraroe public water supply, to react to parametric
values specified for trihalomethanes (THMs).
THMs are a group of organic chemicals formed when
chlorine is used to disinfect water and reacts with
naturally occurring organic matter in raw water.
An action plan had been approved by the EPA on
September 9, 2014, but the required work was not
completed by Irish Water until this year.

Maeve Larkin, prosecuting, said the offence can carry a

class A fine of 5,000.
Darragh Page, a senior inspector with the EPA, told the
court that for drinking water to be safe, there should be no
more than 100mg of THMs per litre. Tests indicated the
levels in the water in Carraroe were in excess.
There had been an elevated level for several years until
recently, he said.
He agreed with Ms Larkin that the solution was to pre-treat
the water using filtration to take out colour or organic
matter before using chlorine so by-product THMs are not
formed.
An action plan was agreed with Irish Water but it was not
fully complied with until this year, the court heard. In
January, five weeks after the deadline, Mr Page visited the
treatment plant and saw it had been unchanged and the
level of THMs still exceeded the standards expected.
The court heard that Irish Water had no prior criminal
convictions.
Judge ONeill said it was not right that Irish Water took for
granted that there would not be planning permission
difficulties.
However, he agreed to order the company to make a
charitable contribution rather than imposing a conviction.
He ordered that 3,000 must go to local charity ras an
Dara.
Adjourning the case, Judge ONeill said if the money is
donated by September 30, he would apply the Probation
Act, which would spare Irish Water a conviction.
I will keep my options open if that is not done, said the
judge.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/irish-water-fails-toimprove-towns-drinking-water-422044.html

Unions agree to attend Dublin Bus

talks at WRC 'without precondition
Unions have agreed to attend talks at the Workplace
Relations Commission for exploratory talks on the Dublin
Bus pay dispute.
Sunday, September 25, 2016

It comes after workers at the company held their sixth day

of industrial action yesterday, with further stoppages
planned for Tuesday and Wednesday as well as 11 more
days in October.
This includes next Saturday, October 1, when Mayo will
once again face Dublin in the All-Ireland Football final
replay, which is set to impact more than 80,000 fans
heading to Croke Park.
However, the National Bus and Railworkers Union say they
have agreed to attend talks at the WRC tomorrow "without
precondition".
General Secretary Dermot O'Leary said: "Whilst the
request to attend at talks without preconditions is
something the trade unions have long been calling for, the
fact is that our members are extremely angry that the
inaction to date by the company and the Department of
Transport has caused severe disruption to commuters and
staff alike.

"The NBRU focus from the commencement of this dispute

has been geared towards getting Dublin Bus to attend at
discussions in order to address the fact that its own staff
are deserving of a fair and adequate wage rise after eight
long years of austerity enforced pay stagnation and pay
cuts.
"Any decision we have to take in relation to postponing
our members industrial action is one which we will only
consider after first establishing if Dublin Bus are serious
about engaging in comprehensive discussions towards a
resolution of this dispute on behalf of the 400,000
commuters and 3,500 staff."
The Minister for Transport Shane Ross has welcomed the
announcement.
Mr Ross said: "I am pleased talks are due to take place
between both sides at the Workplace Relations
Commission (WRC), and we now need to give the relevant
institutions space to formulate an agreement that is fair
and workable for both sides."
Trade union Unite has welcomed the intervention, with
their Regional Officer Willie Quigley noting that unions
have consistently stated their willingness to engage

without preconditions.
He said: Dublin Bus workers, along with the travelling
public, have been frustrated by the failure of both Dublin
Bus and their shareholder, the Government, to engage
meaningfully to resolve this dispute.
Not only have our members received no wage increase
since 2008, and been denied an agreed wage increase
they have also suffered a deterioration in their working
conditions.
Against that background, our members are determined to
pursue their legitimate claims.
We welcome the WRCs intervention, and look forward to
engaging tomorrow without preconditions.
Siptu's Owen Reidy said: "We understand that the purpose
of this initial meeting is to see whether there is the basis
for a meaningful negotiation between the parties.
"Any decision as to whether the pending strike action by
our members on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week
goes ahead, or is cancelled, will be made by the union
committee based on the progress, or otherwise, at
tomorrow's initial meeting."
Support for the two groups in Government has fallen
slightly over the summer, according to a new opinion poll.
But the first Red C poll of the new term, for tomorrow's
Sunday Business Post, shows support for Fine Gael falling
one point to 25%, while the Independent Alliance also drop
one point to 4%.

Fianna Fil, which is supporting the minority Government,

also falls two points but remains the most popular party
on 27%.
Sinn Fin gain two points to 15%, Labour are up one to
7%, while independents are on 10%, a rise of three
percentage points.
The AAA/PBP is on 6%, with the Social Democrats on 4%
and the Greens on 2%.

Marching for Water in the

Sunshine
The day before Id met up with the brother to go on the water
march. As usual he decked himself out in his self made

custume, which got a great reaction from fellow marchers.

News Feed

John Carty gets interviewed!!! Got in a soundbite as well!!!

1
6

Comme
nt

Share

He managed to persuade me to reluctantly wear a caubeen

and a old style jacket and I carried the Che Guevara flag

which also got a good reaction.

At the September Right2Water march in Dublin

The mood on the street was boyant, with many feeling its a
formality at this stage that water charges will be abolished.
In light of 13 000 000 000 for just two years tax going unpaid
by Apple alone, its criminal to charge the citizenry a THIRD
time to pay for our water. How much other multinationals are
getting away with not paying makes the mind boggle, and this
theme formed the design for my poster.
Stephen Murphy read his verse Before You Push That Chair
which was poignant to many due to having lost freinds as a
result of Austerity, all the while while we afford to bail out
banks and let mega corporations get away tax free.
Speeches were given by all the usual speakers, and as the
crowd drifted away the talk was of if they dont listen this time,
we will be back more forceful next time from one man, and

similar sentiments from a lot of others I was speaking to.

Calls for a referendum on the water charges were made
from the stage, and I really hope that this is not just a rally
cry, that its a campaign that the Right2Water will follow up
on.

Right2Water submission to the expert group on the future

funding of domestic water services and improvement on
water quality. While there are questions as to the failure of
R2W to include issues from fluoride in the water to the
issues relating to the radio active smart meters and all the
other issues in between the major concern been raised
now is the change to article 28 of our constitution. R2W
want article 28 .4:2.1 changed to """The Government
shall be collectively responsible for the protection,
management and maintenance of the public water
system. The Government shall ensure in the public
interest that this resource remains in public ownership and
management.""" This gives the ownership, and
management of our water to the existing government (or
a quango appointed by the government) and the line (in
the public interest) gives the government (or that quango)
permission to sell our water at any time if they believe it
would be in the public interest to do so. R2W members
should now clarify when, where and why did they agree
this submission and why do they support a submission
that calls , on behalf of their members, for the sitting
government to own, manage and control the water that
belongs to, and should always belong to the Irish People.
http://www.right2water.ie//Right2Water%20submission
%20to%2

RT One - Saturday Night with Miriam Alan Kelly

Jul 11, 2015
Alan Kelly, smug Labour TD.
Spinning Irish Water lies on Saturday Night with Miriam, 11th
July 2015.
"This is the same Deputy Alan Kelly who stood in the general
election in 2011 in Tipperary North. He knocked on every door
in that constituency and asked every voter to give him their
number one vote so that he could make sure that Fine Gael
would not impose water charges on this country and on the
people of this country. This is the same Deputy Kelly, now
deputy leader of the Labour Party, who stood in that election
on a manifesto which opposed the introduction of water
charges. It is the same Deputy Kelly who supported the
infamous or famous, whichever one wants to call it - Tesco
advertisement which warned the people that Fine Gael had
water charges in store for them. Fine Gael were going to
impose water charges on this country while he and the Labour
Party were going to stop it. This is the type of hypocrisy from
people like the Minister, Deputy Kelly and former Minister,
Deputy Pat Rabbitte and others in the Labour Party. It's the
type of hypocrisy that has brought politics and politicians into
disrepute over the years

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfVkBh7Sde4

Alan Kelly - 27/04 Full statement on Irish

water
Apr 27, 2016
Acting Minister for Environment, Community & Local
Government Alan Kelly with the opening remarks on the
statements on Irish Water heard in the Dil in the aftermath of
the deal between Fine Gael and Fianna Fil concerning the
future of the utility.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFXOeO-uNpQ

Leo Varadkar not another cent

Sep 23, 2013
liars cheats

this was your mandate, not to tax the IRISH people to death.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQrhBIuSCmM

Leo Varadkar Describes Some Water

Charges Protests As Thuggery
Nov 17, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsPDF1pv0tI

Joan Burton on Leo Varadkar coming out

Jan 19, 2015
Tnaiste Joan Burton speaks of her reaction to Leo Varadkar's
public announcement that he is gay; making him the first
openly gay cabinet member in Irish government history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGhvMWEokv0

Frankfurt's Way
Feb 3, 2012
Eamon Gilmore February 3rd 2011
'Frankfurt's way or Labour's way'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kpr2zaXvb4M

Lies n Broken Promises

Sep 8, 2015
Lies and Broken Promises
Special thanks to Damien O'Hare for inspiring me to write this
song
Chorus
Lies and broken promises lie scattered on the stones
Damiens tears rolls down his face for the homeless and alone
He looks around his city and cant believe his eyes
At all the devastation caused by politicians lies
People being evicted thrown out of their homes
Innocent little children carry the lying bankers loans
They knock upon your door when it comes election time
Tell you everything you want to hear the filthy lying swine
Chorus
The slaughter of the Innocents children drown at sea
Lying politicians sixty million refugees
Jobs and schools and hospitals are what the people need
Dropping bombs and firing missiles will never bring the peace
Chorus

You wonder when the first time was that they told their lies
Compromised their principles and took the bribes
Limousines war machines dinner with the Queen
Inflated egos are massaged by deceit lies and greed
Chorus
Robbie Dunn 30/8/2015
Some pictures are google down loads thanks to Damien for his
pics Robbie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSECZHsjBuo

Phone calls to #IrishWater & Data

Protection Commissioner
Sep 28, 2014
Phone call to Irish Water and Data Protection Commissioner 25/09/2014
Skip to call 2 (Data Protection)

https://www.youtube.
com/watch?
v=FNT_54AYYhY
Irish water is a joke - sending people that know feck all to
answer phone's. I rang as well - Did not even think to record it
but was shocked at how little they could help with my queries.
Any question I asked, I had to be put on hold so they could
confer with a supervisor. I don't blame front line staff
answering the phone as I have worked at a similar position , All
answers are scripted and they are only doing as instructed. I
would love to get my hands on all their recorded phone calls
over the past few months. It would show just how much of a
quango this utility really is. Great vid and well spoken . Also, to
be fair - Data commissioner rep was honest and I think was as
helpful as can be expected. Not paying and never will. No
consent - No contract - Regards.

Irish Water Privatisation Clause EXPOSED

Nov 20, 2014
The irish water act does not forbid the privatisation of irish

water it just requires the permission of 2 government

ministers.
So Liam Tomey back in government Oireachtas, what is wrong
with the Irish people, does this clip not expose people to the
snidy sneeky guy he is. Obviously the legislation clearly allows
for the privatisation of irish water it they didnt want it to be
privatised it wouldnt be in the legislation. The cunningness of
Fine Gael working hand in glove with the european union is
obvioius.
fucking bitch Im gonna deck him, what a little rat!! The sooner
these fucking cronies die the better for all of us! We all know
the are SOCIAL REJECTS!! And take his shitty generation with
him. The WORST generation of Irish people EVER are alive
today and destroying our country. They are the retards that
normally wont listen to somebody who swears, talk about living
in a bubble!
Twoney is an illuminati controlled sock puppet. The worlds
billionaires and privately owned central banks want to own all
fresh water resources around the world. Illustration: the
American Bush family send their daughter,Jenna Bush to South
America to buy up land that contains river and lakes with the
intent of privatisation of this essential resource for profit. The
Dail is packed with illuminati controlled sock puppets that are
intent on enslavement of the irish people.
This Government need a good fucking riot and a few slaps
before they realise they work for US, we dont work for them

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w61OsG7VKMc

TDs query Irish

Waters access to
DPP ahead of legal

actions

Justine McCarthy
September 25 2016, 12:01am,
The Sunday Times

COLIN KEEGAN

Irish Water has held discussions with the Office of

the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) about
how the utilitys relationship with water meter
installers can be best presented in criminal
prosecutions.
TDs who oppose water charges claim the
discussions indicate an unusual level of access to
the DPP and say that they intend to raise the
matter in the Dail.
The discussions came to light in a letter obtained
during court proceedings relating to an anti-

metering protest in Dun Laoghaire in May 2015.

The letter, dated July 20, 2015, was written by Kevin
McSherry, Irish Waters metering development
manager, and
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/tds-query-irish-watersaccess-to-dpp-ahead-of-legal-actions-0h7cl5xxz
this is the article in the Sunday times i was telling you about

IW suspension
Jun 24, 2016
Clare Daly speaking on the latest government attempt to fudge
the Irish Water issue.
True and that's generally how mainstream works, at the same time
the advantage to having something raised in Parliament will
ultimately assist everyone charged. And sure its the TDs job to raise
issues in the dail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc7TUiyrXhw&feature=youtu.be

It's no longer Alan

Kelly's job to talk
about Irish Water
BRENDAN HOWLINS ANNOUNCED his Labour
front bench in the wake of his election to the
leadership of the much-reduced parliamentary party
last month.
Much of the speculation in the run up to todays
announcement (not that theres been much of it,
outside of the corridors of Leinster House) had
focused on what role Alan Kelly, the outspoken

former environment minister, would be given.

The Tipperary TD, who had responsibility for Irish
Water in the last government, had made no secret
of his leadership ambitions in advance of Howlins
elevation to the top job.
As you may recall, his absence from the press
conference announcing Howlins victory cast a
shadow on proceedings, in the wake of the veteran
Wexford deputys election.
A slightly-odd tweet from Kelly (below) fuelled
speculation that he might leave the party altogether
but he later said he was committed to helping
rebuild, in the wake of the disastrous general
election result.
The seven stages of Leadership! .....home is
where the heart is.....in Ciss Ryan's Garrykennedy,
Portroe.
Alan Kelly TD (@alankellylabour) May 20, 2016
The jobs
Kelly has been vocal on Irish Water since leaving
office most recently appearing on Morning Ireland
to double down on his post-election position
that Fianna Fils pledge to scrap Irish Water is
likely against EU law.

However in the new-look Labour lineup of

spokespeople, talking about water charges will no
longer be a priority for Kelly. Instead hes been
given the dual role of spokesperson on both health
and Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.
Instead Jan OSullivan, the former education
minister, will shadow the minister responsible for
Irish Water, Simon Coveney. OSullivan will fulfil the
role of spokesperson on Children and Youth Affairs
in addition to being spokesperson on Housing,
Planning and Local Government.

RollingNews.ie Alan Kelly

The partys reduction in representation means

everyone will be doubling or tripling up in their roles.

Senators will also be stepping up to the plate more
than usual, as the full list of jobs announced this
afternoon shows.
Heres what the rest of the TDs will be doing:
Brendan Howlin: Labour Party Leader;
Spokesperson on Justice and Northern Ireland
Joan Burton: Spokesperson on the
Arts, Spokesperson on Education and
Skills; Spokesperson on Finance
Willie Penrose: Spokesperson on Agriculture, Food
and the Marine, Rural Affairs; Spokesperson on
Social Protection
Brendan Ryan: Party Whip, Spokesperson on
Defence; Spokesperson on Transport, Tourism and
Sport
Sean Sherlock, Spokesperson on Communications,
Climate Change and Natural
Resources; Spokesperson on Public Expenditure
and Reform
And the Seanad members:
Ivana Bacik: Seanad Group Leader; Spokesperson
on Foreign Affairs and Development
Kevin Humphreys: Seanad Whip; Spokesperson on

Dublin
Denis Landy: Spokesperson on Local Government
Reform; Spokesperson on Regional Development
Gerald Nash: Spokesperson o
Equality; Spokesperson on Labour Affairs and
Workers Rights
Aodhn Rordin: Spokesperson on Environment
and Sustainable Development, Spokesperson on
Gaeltacht Affairs

Let us show the guards the judges and some of our

politicians that we are not going away, instead we are
growing stronger and more determined to be heard, and
to get a police force and a justice system that we can
respect.
Guards who lie to get children criminal records well they
and their entire families should be hounded out of this
country and never allowed to return, we have the
numbers, we have the power, let our voices be heard.

The guards failed miserably regarding the water meter

installations protests, they showed how corrupt they are,
they were even prepared to allow old people to die they
threw old women, young women and old men including
myself to the ground, they did in many cases including my
own refused medical attention, i did not have a fit as is the
thought of many ,but i cannot say what my medical
condition was until my case is heard in the court in
Waterford on the 19th of December.I can tell ye all that
Superintendent Christopher Delaney and another guard
did throw a lady in her eighties to the ground when they
were protecting Enda Kenny in Waterford during the
election campaign, and another guard probably the worst
offender of that day walking backwards walked on that old
lady's leg, when her daughter tried to stop him from doing
just that he threatened to punch her, this is all caught on
video, he even went back to her a second time again
threatening to punch her, this guy is a bad bastard,
Delaney should have at least directed one officer to help
the old lady up, but thank God one female guard had the
human decency to help the old lady who is from Ferrybank
Waterford. This is why so many people have just lost all
respect for An Garda, yes the whole force is tainted by
guards like these ignorant bastards who are so determined
to please their political masters.

UTGOING MINISTER BRENDAN Howlin is the

clear favourite to succeed Joan Burton as Labour
leader if and when the Tnaiste steps down.
Howlin has privately and publicly received the
backing of several senior Labour figures in the wake
of the partys disastrous general election where it
returned just seven TDs the worst result in its 104year history.
Labour held a five-hour election post-mortem in
Citywest in Dublin yesterday with several
participants saying it was time for Burton to step

down.
Burton told the meeting she would not make a
decision on her future until after the formation of a
government.

www.thejournal.ie

But she faced calls to go from Ciarn Lynch and

Michael McCarthy, who both lost their Dil seats
last month, with Lynch and former Dublin NorthWest TD John Lyons backing Howlin to takeover.
A senior Labour source said that Howlin, the acting
public expenditure and reform minister, was likely to
become a compromise leader until the next

general election.
Three failed election candidates who took part in
yesterdays meeting told TheJournal.ie that there is
consensus that Howlin should be the next leader.
One former TD described him as the logical
choice while another source in yesterdays meeting
said he was the obvious choice.
There is some concern within the party that Burton
will still be the leader if a snap election is called in
the event a government is not formed in the coming
weeks.
If a government isnt formed, is Labour heading into
a snap election with a leader it doesnt want? Joan
would be going into debates with everyone with
their head in their hands, one outgoing senator
said.
Howlin declined to comment on his leadership
intentions when he arrived at Citywest yesterday.

 Sam Boal

Under Labours constitution a leadership election

must be held within six months of the general
election with nationwide hustings and a postal ballot
of its roughly 4,000 members.
However if Howlin emerges as the only candidate
he will be deemed elected by consensus.
Deputy leader Alan Kelly, who has a long-held
ambition to lead Labour, has also been mentioned
as a possible leadership contender.
However, many in the party feel his stock has fallen
as a result of his ill-timed interview with the Sunday
Independent and the way he celebrated his reelection in Tipperary.

During yesterdays meeting, Kelly apologised for

saying power is a drug that suits him in the Sunday
Independent interview in the run up to the
election. He told the meeting he regretted doing the
interview.
Another possible contender is outgoing junior
minister Sen Sherlock. The Cork East TD walked
out as Burton was addressing yesterdays meeting,
but later returned to the discussions.

Sam Boal RollingNews.ie Joan Burton and Brendan Howlin during the
election campaign.

Protest Tuesday 10am onwards Childrens Court Smithfield.

Undeniable evidence from

numerous studies proves

that fluoride causes
cancer
shehroz May 28, 2016

(NaturalNews) The California Environmental Protection Agencys Office

of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) recently
released a document calledEvidence on the Carcinogenicity of Fluoride
and Its Salts that highlights the many health hazards caused by the
consumption of fluoride. And the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) recently
submitted a compilation of its own to OEHHA, which is soon to make a
final decision concerning fluorides toxicity, providing additional evidence
that fluoride causes cancer.
FAN has been working for many years to raise awareness about the
toxicity of fluoride, with the eventual goal of getting it removed from
public water supplies. And its most recent efforts involving OEHHA
could be the straw that breaks the camels back, so to speak, as it has
the potential to unleash the truth about fluoride on a massive scale, and
spark a revolt against its use.
According to a recent FAN press release, OEHHAs report was birthed
out of an inquiry into the science of fluorides toxicity. It is also a prelude
to the groups scientific advisory board Carcinogen Identification

Committee (CIC) meeting to be held on October 12 13, 2011, which

will make a decision on the status of fluoride as a carcinogen.
The OEHHA report already states that multiple lines of evidence (show)
that fluoride is incorporated into bones where it can stimulate cell
division of osteoblasts [bone-forming cells], an admission that already
recognizes fluoride as a cause of bone cancer. The report goes on to
state that fluoride induces genetic changes other cellular changes
leading to malignant transformation, and cellular immune response
thereby increasing the risk of development of osteosarcomas.
To add to this, FAN presented OEHHA with additional studies from the
National Research Council (NRC), the National Toxicology Program
(NTP), and several esteemed universities that all illustrate a link
between fluoride consumption and various cancers, including liver and
oral cancers, and thyroid follicular cell tumors.
With this mountain of evidence, the only logical conclusion OEHHA can
come to in October is that fluoride is a toxic poison and just like lead
and other known toxic chemicals already are in California, worthy of
being publicly identified as dangerous.

You wanted the Irish to

protest? Well, this is what
it looks like: Strike-land
The Dublin Bus strike hasn't won
much sympathy from the media. Sarah
Carey is glad someone has the power
and leverage to fight back
Sarah Carey
PUBLISHED
25/09/2016

1
The picket line at the Broadstone Depot. Photo: Philip
Fitzpatrick/Collins

Before I get to the maths of public transport,

let me reflect on human nature. Most of us
form opinions based on emotion rather than
reason and then seek out those facts that
comfort us best. When I found myself
shouting "Up The Workers!" at my busdriver neighbour on his way to the picket, I
knew why I was cheering.
When I turned on the radio and heard journalists, print or
broadcast, implicitly and explicitly judge the strikers, I
knew what was going on there, too.
Media is a disaster for those who work in it right now. For
"freelance"; read "zero-hours contractor". For "self-

employed"; see "services contractor". Many of us have no

sick pay, no holiday pay, no rights and no guarantee of a
job next week, never mind next year.
That's modern life in a disrupted industry in which pay
cuts are casually communicated by email, with protest
neither expected nor entertained. We meekly accept our
condition knowing we are without leverage or value. Or
leave for a proper job in public relations, as so many of my
colleagues have done. Those left behind can choose to
define lack of security as flexibility or internalise the neoliberal agenda; projecting our feelings of impotence and
frustration on to those who have what we don't: organised
labour.
And so before I switched off the blanket coverage of the
strike, I heard items framed by ailing businesses, stranded
passengers and useless politicians. I didn't hear much in
the way of sympathy or even joy that at least some people
in this country still possess a beating heart, a pulse of
protest, an air of defiance and a willingness to say:
enough.
Strike I say. The withdrawal of labour has power and is
honourable. And let Bus Eireann and Irish Rail go out, too.
Whatever happened to the syndicated strike? Why should
one strike only for oneself? Strike for the others, too.
Get them all out on the street in support of the lads who
drive the plain people around the heaving streets, avoiding
jay-walkers, reckless cyclists, the drug addicts and the
drunks. Why shouldn't they get a pay rise every eight years
while executive pay continues to multiply out of all
proportion to its value? ("But I'm worth it!" they tell
themselves despite the failed strategies; the planning
fallacies; the budgets busted; the missed targets and
project delays rampant throughout the private and public
sector.)
You think that's too much? You think I've really lost it
now?
Okay then. Tell the unions to go into a room and let the
management use their soothing reasonable tones to

explain why it simply can't be done. Approve as the drivers

accept the compromise and shuffle back to their jobs.
Assess events in terms of winners and losers, judging the
minister as a success or failure - because the horse race is
really what it's all about.
And that's grand. But what you don't get to do the
following day is hark back to the days of the troika and the
banks, and sneer at the governments for seeing reason and
taking the deal and doing what must be done. Don't
wistfully admire the spirit of the Greeks for taking to the
streets (not that it did them any good) and lament that the
Irish lacked the spine to do likewise. If you want protest,
this is what it looks like.
There are costs. Services are suspended. Things will stop
working. People will be inconvenienced. There is no winwin when labour is withdrawn. It's not something you can
do on a Sunday afternoon. The point of a strike is that
there is pain. That's the leverage. That's why it works.
And so, finally, the maths. Or rather the principle of the
maths. The commentators and politicians constantly refer
to the public transport subsidy as if it represents failure.
That it's unreasonable to expect the "public purse" to give
directly to public transport. That the balance sheet of the
CIE companies should show a profit, because that's what
companies do, right? But the profit to good public
transport is not seen on a balance sheet. The profit to
moving people around the city and country is to society
and, of course indirectly, the economy. When you expect
public transport to make a profit you get the British Rail
debacle. That's why all around the world public transport
is subsidised - heavily.
One Deloitte & Touche survey (from 2009) showed that of
several comparable cities Dublin received the lowest
subsidy for bus transport. Lyon received 79pc; Brussels
68pc, Amsterdam 62pc, Zurich 57pc, London 39pc, while
Dublin buses got just 29pc.
Of course there are brilliant private transport companies
out there. Enfield, where I live, enjoys great competition.

For instance, Kearns Transport came in and scooped up

the passengers that Bus Eireann literally left standing on
the road and runs a fantastic, well-priced commuter
service in and out to Dublin. But in the middle of the day,
when there are no crowds and you need to get to the next
town and not Dublin, who rolls up to take the pensioners?
It's the old 115 from Bus Eireann. It's fine to put the
profitable routes out to tender, but that just increases the
public service obligation on the CIE companies.
So as a political principle there shouldn't be any challenge
to the idea that public transport deserves public money.
Obviously that shouldn't be used as an excuse for poor
practice, but neither should the financial standards of
commercialism and the increasingly poor employment
practices of the private sector become a stick with which to
beat our bus and rail companies. If the public sector is to
be the last bastion of secure employment with benefits for
ordinary workers and not the preserve of the executive
classes, then that should be cherished not torn apart.
Finally, a word on the peculiar beast known as the
'Commercial Semi-State'. They tell us this hybrid was
formed due to EU rules on competition. We own the ESB,
Bord Gais and CIE, but they tell us the sole shareholder,
the minster, mustn't interfere with its management. This
condition has grated with me for a long time. If we own
the companies and pay the bills, why should we be denied
the right to run those companies for our benefit?
I don't particularly approve of the structure of the current
Government. I'd have gone back to the country rather than
reward the splitters and Independents. But the one upside
of their presence is that they should challenge the
obedience on policies like this.
There must be a way to win back our right to manage that
which we own. Politicians have been complicit in allowing
themselves to be reformed to the point of impotence.
Having legislated away their powers, they see themselves
free of blame. But they can't see that without power, like
media workers, their labour has lost value. Transport

Minister Shane Ross may relish his refusal to intervene,

but he might reflect that one day, like us, he'll have to fight
for his own relevance.
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/sarah-carey/youwanted-the-irish-to-protest-well-this-is-what-it-looks-like-strikeland35076338.html

Sure Noonan tells us Austerity is over .. so much so that he allows

vulture funds and multinationals pay 0.005% and tells the EU to sod off
with the billion owed in taxes ... you can see why the bus driver who
haven't got an increased in 8 years look for a pay increase .... 15% over
12 years ... WOW, some think this is 'greed' ...
So, Sarah, you are saying it is good that an essential service (like water,
transport) is partly subsidised by taxes, and partly paid for on a by-use
basis.
So, are you saying the water protestors were wrong to protest about
taxes being reduced and simultaneously a nominal per-use charge being
introduced to cover a small part of the cost?
Also, are you saying that in a rip-off culture, we should support the
drivers as they strike to rip us off more, by demanding they are overpaid
so we (the taxpayer) get overcharged?

Breda OBrien: Zappone has got it wrong on

childcare
Incentivising people to send children to a crche ignores many other
options
IRISHTIMES.COM

September 25, 16

According to a recent ICTU (Irish Congress of Trade Unions)

study of its members, just under 30 per cent of parents

rely on relatives for childcare, about 30 per cent on

childminders in their own or the parents home, and about
32 per cent on professional crches, with 8 per cent using
community crches.
So at the moment, only 40 per cent of parents opt for
crche-based childcare. Yet Dr Katherine Zappone is
proposing to subsidise only one model of childcare
crches.
Of course, some people may be relying on relatives
because they cannot afford anything else, but many
families prefer to have their children minded in a noninstitutional setting. Grandparents, relatives and
neighbours have an emotional investment in children that
is hard to replicate.
There has also been a lot of talk about subsidising
childcare for the squeezed middle who pay for
everything.
I am strongly in favour of subsidising the poorest families
who need the most support, and I also think the
Government should help all families do what is best for
their children.
That is not the same as incentivising parents to put their
children into childcare centres. The Government should
adopt a neutral stance when it comes to options that
parents choose.
Childcare costs are very high, and people find them hard
to afford, but the answer is not to make direct payments
to childcare providers.
Enabling parents to mind children
Our economy has evolved to demand two incomes even
for a basic standard of living. Mortgage and living costs
are exorbitant. It is very difficult for people to make a real
choice between say, full and part-time work, because if
you wish to own a home, you need two incomes.
If childcare costs are paid directly to providers, it
immediately reinforces the dual-income model and
reduces choice still further. Caring for children involves
costs no matter what you do, but the trouble is, some
costs are far less visible.
Take opportunity costs. If one parent decides to work
fewer hours in order to mind children, there is an
immediate cost because of lower income, reduced

promotion prospects and it even affects pension provision.

It is not as visible as having to pay the crche every
month, but it is a significant cost, nonetheless.
Michael Noonan and Department of Finance boffins are
very well aware of the basic economic concept of
opportunity costs but they often choose to ignore it.
Why should the Government subsidise childcare costs, and
ignore opportunity costs? Unless they have an ideological
commitment to having everyone in the paid workforce, a
commitment that has nothing to do with the welfare of
children?
Dr Katherine Zappones proposal to pay part of families
bills for childcare directly to childcare providers is wellintentioned but short-sighted, and will have predictable
negative consequences.
Dr Zappone has always had an interest in childcare. The
organisation that she co-founded with her wife, Ann Louise
Gilligan, An Cosn, is involved in childcare in three
different ways, including Rainbow House, Fledglings
childcare centres, and running training courses for
childcare workers.
According to a video on the An Cosn website, at any one
time 10 per cent of children in Rainbow House are there
because of health services referrals, because the families
are undergoing a time of crisis or need extra support.
Fledglings is another not-for-profit service, which An Cosn
advocates rolling out as a model across the country.
Disadvantaged children
An Cosn is in a disadvantaged area, and children who
grow up in poverty benefit most from early childhood
education. The Fledglings childcare centres are based on
Irish guidelines but also on a US programme called
HighScope, or the Perry Preschool model, a successful,
high-cost, intensive intervention with poor children that
also works with parents.
While there is a strong argument for subsidising targeted
early childhood education for severely disadvantaged
children, there is little or no evidence that children from
advantaged backgrounds receive the same benefits.
James Heckman, the US Nobel Laureate and economist,
has researched this question extensively, and his
conclusions are blunt.

It is foolish to try to substitute [with childcare] what the

middle-class and upper-middle-class parents are already
doing.
In other words, children in middle-class families are being
educated by their families in a way that is easier to
accomplish if you have benefited from education and
greater opportunities yourself.
This is not a battle between stay-at-home parents and
those who choose, or are forced, to go out to work. The
world of work is changing. People move in and out of the
workforce much more often than in the past, or work
reduced hours, or work from home.
So in Dr Zappones model, everyone pays higher taxes to
facilitate crche childcare, which many people do not
want. If you incentivise a one-size-fits-all model such as
crches, you reduce peoples choices, and you make
workplace flexibility much more difficult for people who
want to work reduced hours.
The only fair option is to give the money directly to
parents to use as they see fit, whether that be to pay for a
crche, to pay Granny, to help one parent stay at home, or
to reduce their working hours.
It's a choice if you can aford to stay home with your children sadly
most mammies can't aford it right to choose
http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/breda-o-brien-zappone-has-got-itwrong-on-childcare-1.2803274?
utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Protest Against Censorship

On Saturday 24th of September the Anti-Internment Group held a
protest outside RTE studios in Donnybrook south Dublin. The protest
was held because of RTEs censorship against the case of the
Craigavon 2. The Craigavon 2 have been in jail since March 2009,
Brendan McConville and John Paul Wootton (who was only 17 years
of age at the time) were accused of the shooting dead of a Police
officer.
Their trial was a farce, not only was it a non jury trial, all evidence
used in the case used by the prosecution was either circumstantial
or witness evidence from a witness whose statements were totally
contradictory but also his own father came forward and said he is
walter mitty (a walter mitty is well known slang in Ireland for a
liar). Below are some facts about evidence the witness gave:
The prosecution star witness did not come forward until eleven
months after the shooting by which time Brendan McConvilles
name had been widely broadcast in the media.
The prosecution star witness continuously lied under oath.
The prosecution star witness contacted the police on a number of
occasions while drunk or drinking, including on the first occasion he

had contacted them in the middle of the night.

The prosecution star witness was proved to be suffering from
astigmatism and short sightless and would have difficulty identifying
facial features at more than eight yards.
The distance between the path along which the prosecution star
witness walked and the electricity box, where he claimed to have
seen Brendan McConville is just over sixteen yards.
The prosecution star witness was accompanied by his partner on the
night in question, yet she is unable to confirm his version of events.
The prosecution star witness gave evidence that when he claimed to
have seen Brendan McConville, he was wearing a knee length, green
army coat with a German logo. The coat recovered from a vehicle
with the DNA of Brendan McConville on it was a brown waist length
jacket.
If you want to look more into the Craigavons 2 case see jftc2.com.
There was over 80 supporters outside RTE studios protesting, the
line up of speakers included John Paul Wootton (who spoke from the
prison phone to a mobile phone of one of the protesters which was
hooked up to a speaker, he said:
The press often claim they are the guardians of democracy, and its
their role to expose corruption, wrongdoing, and injustice. Well nows
their chance, nows their chance to remove the self imposed
censorship and tell the people whats going on.
There were also moving and emotional speeches from John Paul
Woottons Auntie and Brendan McConvilles fiancee. Towards the end
of the protest the mothers of the Craigavon 2 released two white
doves. There were also solidarity demos held in several other cities
across the world.

BBC Northern Ireland - Spotlight - The

NAMA Tapes: Corruption & Cover-up
(6/9/16)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0F_ArGMExQ

Spy in the IRA - Gerry Adams and the

murder of Denis Donaldson
Sep 21, 2016
From 'The Guardian':
"The Sinn Fin president, Gerry Adams, has denied he
sanctioned the murder of a British spy inside the IRA"

"Adams rejected allegations aired on BBC television on Tuesday

night that he directly ordered the killing of Denis Donaldson at
his remote cottage in the Irish Republic a decade ago"
"Adams has consistently denied ever being in the IRA"
READ MORE:
Gerry Adams denies sanctioning murder of British spy Denis
Donaldson
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/...
Gerry Adams 'sanctioned Denis Donaldson killing':
"A man who says he was a former IRA and Sinn Fin member
turned British agent has claimed Sinn Fin leader Gerry Adams
sanctioned the killing of Denis Donaldson"
READ MORE:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern...
Originally broadcast on BBC Northern Ireland on September
20th 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apBLMtOtI9Q
The news: on Rateable Value Jurisdiction.
And its not the nine oclock news, our rateable value win is starting
to filter down; the news papers estimated that 11 thousand cases
would have to be pulled from the circuit court lists, well we believe
its more and a lot more: so there are a lot of families that can
breath easy for a short time: the banks will reissue proceedings at
sometime in the future,,,,,,,, thats for certain.
However; it would seem that some banks are putting in motions to
just change the indorecment of claim: that cant happen, the Civil
Bill and changing the contents cant happen, yes you can change
the parties, names etc but not the claim itself: if the Registrars do
allow the lending institutions to change the jurisdiction from
Rateable Value to the 2013 Eviction Bill then they are opening
themselves up to being sued on a personal level:
A void (Vacate) which includes judgement entered by a court which
lacks jurisdiction over the parties or the subject matter, or lacks
inherent power to enter the particular judgement, or an order
procured by fraud, can be attacked at any time, in any court, either
directly or collaterally, provided that the party is properly before the
court. See Long v. Shorebank Development Corp., 182 F.3d 548 (C.A.

7 Ill. 1999).
No Res Judicata
Once the judgement was found to have been rendered without
jurisdiction over the defendants, such judgement was void; it was as
though suit had never been brought and there was no impediment
to bringing the suit where personal jurisdiction over the defendants
could be had; a void judgement amounts to nothing and has no
force as res judicata. Arkansas State Highway Commission v. Coffelt,
301 Ark. 112, 782 S.W.2d 45 (1990).
And we could go on and on stating their own rules and case
precedence. If you have lost your home from the use of the
Jurisdiction of Rateable Value: sue the lending institution, they in
turn will sue the solicitor and the money goes on! And on! And the
insurance company fits the bill or even the Law Society!
We first brought the Jurisdiction (not) of Rateable Value to the notice
of the Circuit Courts, helped win the Justice Murphy ruling on the
Jurisdiction of Rateable Value and then helped the Case Stated;
Justice Hogan. So whats next, our pet hate is; the Eviction Bill.
Watch this space.
So if you did donate to the case stated rest assured that you
partook in giving well over 11 thousand Irish families a bit of a rest
bite, allowed some to retake their homes, some to sue for
damages. Hats off to those that believed in The Hub
Ireland; we are obviously going to go for costs and we will keep you
informed as to how that goes.
Quoting Lord Dennings dictum in the Macfoy V United Africa Co Ltd
(1961) 3 ALL E.R If an act is void, then it is in Law a nully. It is
automatically null and void without more ado, though it is
sometimes convenient to have the Court declare it to be so. And
every proceeding which is founded on it is also bad and incurably
bad. You cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stay
there, it will collapse.

Irelands False profits- robbing the poor to

keep the rich tax-free A Christian Aid report
March 2009
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/Images/false-profits.pdf
New Report- Ten Reasons to Defend the Corporate Income Tax.
http://www.taxjustice.net/wpcontent/uploads/2013/04/Ten_Reasons_Full_Report.pdf

Transfer Pricing Worth Salvaging? a top experts devastating critique

of global rules. Original here. Also see how Google dodges tax. Factjust three big U.S. corporations held some $135 billion offshore in
2013.

http://www.taxjustice.net/cms/upload/pdf/Sheppard_1208_Transfer_P
ricing.pdf