[djpbarry]

Originally Posted by Bullseye1

Incompetent councillors are not the main problem. It's incompetent full time civil servants who make mistakes without consequences for their employment.

Ok, but nothing is likely to change if people don't engage more with their local authorities, principally through the electoral process.

[bluewolf]

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...315011222.html
No meters for up to a third of households - standing charges only

If households are paying for the installation of meters themselves, that's a double hit

The Government is seeking to introduce “universal metering”, believing it to be the fairest way to charge households for water, and the best method of achieving conservation.

Surely the best method of achieving conservation would be to fix the pipes that leak up to 40% of the water supply before it even hits our homes??
This is all we heard about a couple years ago when that freeze hit - and the same people were giving advice about leaving the taps running all night; other officials were telling us how shoddy the infrastructure was. Now it's up to us to make up for that?

[ART6]

Originally Posted by bluewolf

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...315011222.html
No meters for up to a third of households - standing charges only

I would hazard a guess that outside of Dublin the number of properties where metering would be impossible is likely to be even higher, certainly in rural areas with older housing. In my village there are no stopcocks in any of the roads, and to the best of my knowledge no record of where individual households are connected to the mains. In my case the pipe to my house meanders across my garden and into my neighbor's property. He has no idea where it goes after that and also no idea where his supply is connected. Therefore, it would appear that unless meters are fitted at the point of entry into each house, metering in my village will be impossible.

If a meter is fitted in my property at the point of entry, that is on the back wall fifty yards from the road and obscured from it by the house itself. So would a remote-readable meter even work?

In spite of what seems to be growing evidence Mr. Hogan is still maintaining that meters will be fitted to everything that has water in it. This is fast heading towards yet another wildly over-budget government foul up, for which the taxpayer will collect the tab.

[Bullseye1]

Originally Posted by djpbarry

Ok, but nothing is likely to change if people don't engage more with their local authorities, principally through the electoral process.

And how exactly if we do engage will things change in regard to permanent civil servants or local authority employees?

[djpbarry]

Originally Posted by bluewolf

Surely the best method of achieving conservation would be to fix the pipes that leak up to 40% of the water supply before it even hits our homes??

With what?

Originally Posted by Bullseye1

And how exactly if we do engage will things change in regard to permanent civil servants or local authority employees?

I'm sorry, that was a foolish suggestion. I forgot that the Irish electorate is completely powerless to reform local government and they will be eternally at the mercy of the nefarious civil service.

I think local government reform is probably a discussion for another thread, but let's not pretend it can't be done.

[ART6]

Originally Posted by djpbarry

Ok, but nothing is likely to change if people don't engage more with their local authorities, principally through the electoral process.

But county, city, and borough managers have delegated powers, which means that they don't have to follow councilor's instructions in a number of areas. The managers are not subject to the electoral process.

[monkeypants]

Originally Posted by liammur

“The overarching objective of the Government’s water reform programme is to put in place structures and funding arrangements that will ensure we have a world class water and waste water infrastructure that meets all environmental and public health standards,” he said.

FF/FG/Lab, always talking about 'world class', be it Health, Education, Transport, then failing miserably. I'd be happy with better than mediocre, why can't we aim for that. It'd also be cheaper. We most commonly end up with a 'world class' bill.