Water row reveals political weakness

IN THE interest of saving face and restoring trust among its soon-to-be paying customers, Irish Water is expected to provide some clarity on how it spent €50m on outside consultants in its back to back committee appearances over then next 48 hours.

But while some of the issues around the utility company might be put to bed for now, outstanding questions will linger about the political system itself that allowed such spending to go on un-noticed, but for the astute questioning of RTÉ’s Sean O’Rourke.

The way the information came to light and the reaction of ministers since, highlights the dysfunctional nature of the Oireachtas system which the coalition had so boldly promised to “overhaul” to bring about more accountability and transparency.