Irish Water woes: Must do better

IN the relatively short time since it was established Irish Water has managed to put the Ballymagash back into Irish politics and public life. For that alone, in entertainment terms at least, we are in its debt.

It has, after a series of spectacular U-turns, foot-in-mouth embarrassments, and Kafkaesque absurdities about bonuses, announced that less than 50% — just 46% — of those liable for water bills have paid up. Though this seems almost an appropriate ratio for such a half-cocked project, it represents a significant political failure. The agency is, after all, the child of political ambition and possibly the most botched attempt at public reform in the history of this State.

Despite all this, Irish Water must succeed. It is responsible for a vital infrastructural project — the secure delivery of safe water — on which most of us rely. Political ineptitude has done more damage to the agency than its opponents but somehow or other it must become an efficient, slick agency, one we can all respect. Anything less would be just another self-destructive indulgence in grand-scale delusion.