Pay cannot be kept off limits - Irish Water

It is entirely understandable that any minister would want to keep clear water between themselves and the deepening mess at Irish Water.

However, yesterday’s hand washing by Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin in the Dáil, when he said that the Government does not have control over pay in commercial State companies, is precisely the kind of patronising dodge, the kind of facetious filibustering this Government was elected to confront and eradicate.

Mr Howlin’s response may, on the face of it, seem entirely business-like and appropriate, but in a society where too many people have grown weary of watching one gravy train after another pull away from accountability, this detachment, this convenient excuse no longer holds water.