Govt incompetence fuels confusion as water deadline looms – Cowen

Published on: 02 February 2015


Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Environment Barry Cowen TD says the Government has further confused the issue surrounding the Irish Water registration deadline.  Irish Water was forced to issue a clarification after Labour Senator Lorraine Higgins claimed that people would be penalised for not registering before the midnight deadline.

Deputy Cowen commented, “Senator Higgins’ ill-informed commentary on the registration deadline has only served to further confuse the situation and is typical of the Government’s continued ineptitude in dealing with the Irish Water controversy.  This is just the latest blunder in what has been a series of errors in the setting up and management of the bloated utility company.  The public’s confidence in this quango has now been further undermined as a result of a Government representative’s inability to clearly understand or explain the registration process.

“Senator Higgins’ claims that people who don’t register will face a penalty prompted Irish Water to issue a clarification to assure people that that isn’t the case.  However, there is still a large degree of uncertainty about the workings of Irish Water, and how the water conservation grant will be allocated.

“Despite attempts by Irish Water to clarify the situation regarding registration, the Government’s botched handling of the situation has led to a distrust among the Irish people, with a large proportion of the population still to register.  These concerns will not have been helped by this morning’s performance by the Government representative on the issue, and raises questions about whether the Government itself fully understands the registration and funding mechanisms”.

Connect with us



News Categories