Taxpayers must get a break in 2015

As we approach the end of another year, many people will look back on 2014 with a somewhat confused perspective.

Politically it was a very strange year. The Government parties took a severe battering in European and local elections, and the opinion polls show a strong tendency towards very diverse independents and Sinn Féin. At one level this is surprising given what has transpired in the economy. However, many people’s view of the Government’s performance is being heavily influenced by political governance issues rather than the economy.

The hamfisted way in which Irish Water was set up displayed an incredible level of incompetence. The charitable interpretation is that in its enthusiasm to reform the way the long-time failed water service operates, it rushed the setting up of the company and the structure, and not surprisingly the whole thing has blown up in their face in a politically disastrous fashion. One suspects that the issue has not gone away and will rear its very ugly head again next year when the first bills start to arrive.