Water charges: Left did not win election either

TAOISEACH Enda Kenny yesterday made a robust defence of Irish Water, saying it still made sense that a vital service should be provided by a single utility and that to scrap it and revert to the former local authority arrangement would be costly and regressive.

Considering the number of seats that Fine Gael probably lost to the water controversy, it was a courageous thing to do.

Whether we like it or not, what Mr Kenny says makes sense. While the setting up of Irish Water was mishandled, to say the least, there is still a case to be made for retaining a single utility provider.