‘Disingenuous and crass nonsense’

The body representing small and medium businesses across the country has said Jobs Minister Richard Bruton’s description of Irish Water as a "commercial" operation is "disingenuous and crass nonsense".

Isme said it approved of having to pay for water because it is a scarce resource. However, it said describing Irish Water as commercial “is the minister and the Government’s excuse for not having to deal with the madness of paying bonuses to people to run a public utility”.

The comments came after it emerged Irish Water staff are to be paid bonuses of up to 19%, even if it is considered that their work performance needs to improve.

“This is not public service. This is self-service,” said Isme. “How can anyone justify a bonus to people for doing their job properly, or half-properly? In the harsh commercial world, bonuses are paid for getting greater sales or for creating value within a company. Bonuses are never paid for just doing your job.

“That’s called your salary. If you want a bonus then you have to find ways of making your company more profitable.”

Isme said Irish Water is a State monopoly “with a public-sector remit, headed by a public-sector lifer, which has no commercial mandate”.

“All Irish Water is doing is making sure that the same water we have always received arrives clean (not always) through our taps and then they’ll collect money from us for the pleasure.

“We have no alternative. It’s a tax. Irish Water is a tax collector,” Isme said.

“If public-sector workers want bonuses, Isme would welcome them to join the ranks of the productive sector, to set up an SME, make a great go of it, and then to pay themselves whatever they want by way of bonuses, dividends, golden parachutes — whatever — from the wealth they have created.”