THEY don’t care about the water. It’s just a tool to destabilise the Government and accumulate power. It’s what they do. It’s what they’ve always done — find an issue with which they can mobilise people, then go and do it.

A new deal between the Government and banks to strengthen efforts to tackle distressed mortgages could be struck in the next three months.

The Personal Insolvency Bill unveiled yesterday by Finance Minister Michael Noonan and Minister for Justice Alan Shatter is designed to reform the country’s outdated bankruptcy laws.

The Government has published the report of the interdepartmental group headed by accountant Declan Keane. It warned that borrowers and lenders must recognise that some of the current mortgage arrangements are unsustainable.