Setting up of Irish Water is a model for how to get things totally wrong

There is no reason to believe that we can’t afford to put charging on hold until we get the structures of Irish Water right, writes Fergus Finlay

I got my last Irish Water bill in February, and it was paid by direct debit. €65.54 it was, for a quarter. So I’ve paid €260 in the last year — that’s correct, I suppose, because there are four adults living in my house. I don’t understand why the bill for each quarter is slightly different, but it does add up to the right round number.

And of course, along the way, the good people in the Department of Social Protection gave me €100 for my troubles, and for my vast contribution to the conservation of water. But have I been conserving water? Not consciously, if I’m being honest.