Stop! Irish Water must be dismantled

The arrogance, ineptitude, and maladministration in Irish Water puts me in mind of Hans Christian Andersen’s parable The Emperor’s New Clothes

The emperor is duped into hiring two swindlers who promise him the finest suit of clothes made from a fabric invisible to any courtier who is unfit for his position. The fraudsters scarper with the money.

The vanity of the emperor is demonstrated by his failure to acknowledge the hopelessly stupid position he has found himself in. His ministers go along with the pretense, fearing the loss of their positions. The emperor insists on taking part in a procession through the town until a child blurts out ‘the emperor is wearing nothing’.