Democracy issue - Irish Water debacle

The Irish Water nightmare continues for Enda Kenny. 

Yesterday, the Labour Party broke ranks with its coalition partner by voting in favour of a Fianna Fáil motion calling for a referendum to ensure the facility remains in public ownership.

Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly told the Seanad that he would not rule it out despite the Taoiseach specifically rejecting such a vote in the Dáil on Tuesday.

The Government is clearly running scared on the issue, pushing the implementation of metering out to 2018 in case it loses them the general election in 16 months’ time.

While Government politicians remain focused on the cost to householders, believing that a modest charge will mollify the electorate, they may be missing the point, which is that the real issue is their credibility.

Demands for a referendum clearly demonstrate that voters do not believe a word that their political leaders are saying.

That is dangerous not just for the future of Fine Gael and Labour but for our democracy.