Concessions on water charges: Privatisation assurances not enough

Today’s conciliatory and humiliating Government announcements on Irish Water may be the defining moment for this Government. 

Get it right, or at least convince enough people that they have got it right, and they might begin to believe that they can face the next election with some optimism. Get it wrong and this secondary issue will cast a shadow over everything they have — or might yet — achieve.

Despite a resurgent economy, and even if that recovery is not evenly spread across the country, today’s package is probably a decisive throw of the dice for a Government paying a very heavy price for giving far less attention than was required to the practical details of this entirely justifiable charge. The consequences of this carelessness were exacerbated when the issue became the focus for anger generated over years of challenged living standards while vast sums were paid to cover bondholders’ losses incurred because of their unwise investments in Irish banks. The backstory is almost threadbare but the legacy issues remain unresolved and a source of great bitterness.