Irish Water remains an election issue as nobody wants to take responsibility

In October of 1945, just over 70 years ago, Harry S Truman, the 33rd President of the United States of America, received a sign that would sit on his desk for the duration of his presidency.

It was a simple motto and one that more people in senior and influential positions should adhere to. The motto on that sign was “the buck stops here”.

These days, it generally appears that the buck stops nowhere; least of all with the person in charge, the one earning the big bucks.

It would be nice to think that there were people at the top who would assume responsibility for the absolutely monumental disaster that Irish Water has become.

However, no one is taking responsibility.

In recent months, we haven’t heard a huge amount about Irish Water.

We clearly have short memories.

However, there have been many other distractions ranging from the Budget, to the date of the next election, to Ireland’s chances of getting through to Euro 16 to our foiled chances of going further in the Rugby World Cup.

More recently, the decision by Justice Cregan that he could not progress the IBRC inquiry further has attracted our attention.

Apparently, the Justice is of the view that he did not have the necessary powers to use, in any meaningful way or even to report on, the confidential and or legally privileged documents that he was obtaining from the various concerned parties he was examining as part of his brief.

However, Irish Water and its works have not gone away.

Whilst a TD and a few of his fellow protesters who inconvenienced Labour leader Joan Burton were having their proverbial collars felt, little was being heard about trouble at the meter installations.

It was peace in our time, or so it seemed.

Now Irish Water is back in the headlines again as John Tierney, its chief executive, prepares to retire, after a lifetime of working in the public sector.

There is talk that Irish Water will be re-branded in a bid to build public confidence in the water utility.

To suggest that this view is wishful thinking would be to understate how wrong it is.

In a way, John Tierney was made a scapegoat for the sins of others.

Ultimate responsibility for the mess that is Irish Water must sit at the door of the Government ministers in charge.

That is where the buck should have stopped.

It will take more than the departure of a chief executive to provide a ‘clean slate’ that will allow Irish Water to continue on its merry way.

Concern was apparently voiced in political circles when Mr Tierney’s spoke on national radio about the scale of consultancy fees paid by Irish Water when it was being set up.

He was also quizzed by the Public Accounts Committee about Irish Water and the bonuses the utility paid.

Can we deduce, that Government would have preferred that he had either refused to answer questions? That would have only made matters worse.

Senior government figures must accept responsibility for the mess that became Irish Water.

The same people along with their appointed management team must accept responsibility for what happened thereafter.

Conserving water supplies, the original stated goal behind Irish Water, is dead in the water. The debts now incurred will sit on the national balance sheet.

In a desperate attempt to quell popular dissatisfaction, the Government chose to try to buy off the electorate with “money back” and fixed water charges for several more years.

Fixing water pipes that have been leaking forever, providing clean water and conserving water has taken second place to getting re-elected.

With any luck, the court appearances of prominent political figures will occur before the election and bring Irish Water back again into sharp focus.

Dismantling it may be difficult, if not impossible, but the alternative may be even more unappealing to a party which wants to be re-elected for the first time in its history.