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So naive. Privatisation was real. How easy you forget
O'Dowd: My proposal to ban Irish Water privatisation was deleted (irishexaminer.com)
My proposal to ban Irish Water privatisation was deleted.
The minister who set up Irish Water has said there are "forces" within the Department of the Environment who want to privatise the water network.
Fergus O'Dowd said there was good reason to be concerned about the possibility of Irish Water being sold to private hands.
The Fine Gael TD made his comments in the Dáil in the early hours of the morning, as TDs debated the Water Services Bill.
"We have reason to be concerned," he said. "I am convinced there are other forces at work here - not necessarily political forces - that are active and they do have an influence."
Don't worry. Fianna Fail have the scent and we know they hate FG's New Politics. They'll uncover the truth...oh wait.
NEW: Transcript Proves Hogan Misled Oireachtas on Set-up Costs of Irish Water (fiannafail.ie)
Fianna Fáil Environment Spokesperson Barry Cowen has provided evidence to the Dáil that the Environment Minister Phil Hogan misled the Oireachtas about the set-up costs of Irish Water.
Deputy Cowen has provided a transcript from the Oireachtas Environment Committee in November 2012, showing Minister Hogan outlining set-up costs for Irish Water of €10 million. This came three months after we now know that the Economic Management Council had secretly approved funding of €180 million to set up Irish Water.
Deputy Cowen Explained, “Either Minister Hogan deliberately lied about how much taxpayers’ money was being spent on setting up Irish Water, or he accidentally gave a gross underestimation to the Oireachtas Environment Committee in November 2012. Either way, we now know as a result of yesterday’s PAC meeting that when Minister Hogan publicly stated that the cost would be €10 million, he knew that €180 million had already been committed three months previously.
“Minister Hogan must set the record straight as a matter of urgency. I am calling on him to come before the Dáil, correct the grossly inaccurate statement he made in November 2012 and explain how such a ‘mistake’ could have happened.”
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180m?....It cost 1.4 billion!!
Head in sand.
FG
Let me Join some Dots without going into too much detail albeit I've presented the facts already.
One of the Hotels (There are many) were sold under very mysterious circumstances. All were struggling and long before the Pandemic, Some actually sold by receivers or Nama and changed hands a number of times in the past number of years. My own knowledge in this sector and indeed I worked for a number of financial institutions in the capacity of advising how various establishments operate, how they haven't and how to prepared for resale. Many were basket cases & still are and in the real world are completely unviable as hotels. I'll go further, I estimate Conservatively 20% of hotels in Ireland are currently unviable and much more restaurants.
A simple case in point was a hotel in Celbridge, Years of financial trouble, various owners. The property essentially closed down, the pandemic, the final straw. Enormous liabilities & it was reduced to accommodating staff from Intel such was the lack of accommodation and housing in Kildare.
A deal was Struck with a mysterious owner (Not Intel) but a major contractor and the stated purpose as reported widely was for the property to be used by a large employer in Kildare, but there was numerous stumbling blocks, not least substantial redundancy payment's which were not paid within the legally required time frame. A discrete offer was belatedly made to employee's which included employee's having to sign a waiver, also a very questionable decision by the previous owner, employee's started contacting the press and I might add Leo Varadkars & Heather Humphries departments. The excuse offered by the previous owner was the waiver was intended to copper fasten the deal with potential buyer for use as an accommodation hub for employee's of a large employer in Kildare. (This turned out to be not quite true)
Roll on the sale, the exciting news about its planned use for employee's, last June , the excitement locally palpable.
Then , out of nowhere & still unexplained, a substantial contract "awarded " to house 350 Ukrainian refugees. I hear talk of onus of proof , proof of what exactly 🤔 I've presented the facts, there's no ambiguity, wildly reported on but the last media not grasping what's occurred. I did not make any accusations of Corruption, someone else did, I presented the sequence of events (there's more I won't discuss), folks can make up their own minds on what's occurred here in this one example
I'm using one example, I'm privy to many .
The Matter needs absolutely more explanation.
I'll say no more 😏
Ah, you see I made no claims. You inferred it. I said it was good fortune. The luck of the Irish if you will.
Sure we live in a world of lollipops and gum drops and rainbows.
Balls. The council workers and contractors have not changed. Why sack numerous water department employees to turn around and hire water department AKA IW employees? Laughing yoga ring a bell? Guaranteed bonuses despite performance? The personal driver of a FG hack getting put on the board? The sitserv sale at a loss and then awarding it the metering contract? Give over.
The same companies and people are doing water maintenance and supply as they did before the quango.
Indeed and nor have I , just shared a little story on the luck of the Irish, an American & Taxpayers, so to speak 😏
The FF/FG party mantra, 'sure t'wasnt illegal that ye know of'.
Yes Marko we all know the score and you are well out of your depth. Why do you keeping doubling down when you are being proven wrong by others including @Brucie Bonus @Cluedo Monopoly @Dempo1
Privatisation was real, in the same way, that Santa is real?
The whole narrative about privatising Irish Water was a scare story spouted by the left, and some got caught by it, hook line and sinker.
There was never a government policy or push to privatise Irish water.
So why are you spouting about hotels that were struggling and refuges then?
The usual crew doing a lot of inferring because they don't have an iota of proof or evidence to back up their crazy while stories and conspiracies.
From Hotels to Irish Water, they see backroom deals everywhere but with no evidence to prove their case. Then they run off proclaiming they never said anything about corruption even though it's inferred all the time.
If privatisation was not on the agenda why didn’t the government do the most obvious thing to quash talk about it. Have a referendum on it so that it could be enshrined in the constitution. Simple’s.
One of the Hotels (There are many) were sold under very mysterious circumstances.
Did it involve Colonel Mustard, a Candlestick and did it happen in the drawing room?
You tell a nice tall tale, buts it's a tale. Anyone can spin a yarn Dempo. But I need actual proof of what you are saying, oh sorry, what you are alleging, which is not corruption but something else, but you won't tell us exactly what this is.
Proven wrong? I dont engage in tall tales and 'connect the dots' with no proof offered.
A story it was alright.
Don’t engage? Pull the other one.
IIRC they did insist it wasn't ever planned and the claim was really based on the water companies in the UK and a misguided assumption we would follow suit but it was a really big stick and a very effective one for those implacably opposed to water charges. The Constitution is really the last place for something like that. As I said earlier less haste and more planning in setting up IW was a far better approach.
You may also have missed this recently published bill about Uisce Eireann!
what a family to be living next to...
Thanks Marko, more insults , Jibes, I much prefer Colemans mustard myself.
How's your Corruption inquiry going 🤔
The thing I find about good novels, Stories, indeed, Tribunals & inquiries, , is they all have something in common.
A Beginning, A plot and the Ending.,😏
Fairy Tales really don't require any of the above.
They are great Neighbours, although can have "long faces" when not in receipt of some Treats 😏
Thanks for the update.
I'd completely forgotten about 😳 even more stomach churning looking back at it now.
I'm just pointing out how marvelously fortunate these reoccurring incidences are.
You saw something in it, otherwise you wouldn't have stumbled into here to infer claims nobody made to try shut it down.
Sure sitserv. We were forming the IW quango. We needed water meters. We had siteserv and sold it at a loss. Well be the hokey, if didn't we turn around and realise siteserv could provide the water meters and award the new owner the contract. Luck of the Irish as I say.
Imagine buying a company on its uppers, in a field you've no background in, only to be awarded a contract from the very people sold you the company. Marvelous good fortune.
Really yeah? I thought you'd never ask. Bad day for Marko.
For context, Fergus O'Dowd is the Fine Gael TD for Louth since 2002.
Have a listen to his speech in the Dail in 2014 when discussing the Water Services Bill.
And in case you refuse to listen.
Former minister who set up Irish Water says 'forces' at work to privatise company (thejournal.ie)
Former minister who set up Irish Water says 'forces' at work to privatise company
FORMER JUNIOR MINISTER Fergus O’Dowd, one the people involved in setting up Irish Water, said last night that he felt that there were “forces at work” with “agendas” to privatise the utility company.
He said he remains “deeply concerned at other agendas, they may be European… I don’t know where they are coming from…” and said we have “real reason to be concerned” about the possibility of Irish Water being privatised.
Speaking about his role in the setting up of Irish Water in the Dáil last night, he said that he always wanted it to be included in legislation that Irish Water could never be privatised and would remain a public company.
He said he was very surprised then to see in the number two Bill there was no provision guaranteeing the utility remaining a public body.
It was excluded and not included in legislation, and that concerned me greatly.
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Is the Fine Gael minister one of the lefties you spoke of with such authority?
Someone had their eye on our water...
100% 😉
Don't forget that whenever there was Irish Water Protests outside the Dail, Siteserv provided all the barriers too.
O Dear , I know it Sumner holidays etc but come now minister 🤔, Ditch Media get a mention, the scoundrels 😁
No surprise there.
Charlie weston in Indo writing on the Government Pension plans, not an area I'd have much knowledge of but not quite getting the reaction Government were expecting.
What do watch dogs do In Ireland ? It's not like its been in the media. What they need the minister to tell them to investigate ? Is this not what happened in the banking crisis central bank not doing anything. I mean if their not doing anything close them down no point in paying for the staff.
Yes, having referendums on such matters is simple.
Eh, do you know about the history of the 8th Amendment? Such stuff should never be put into the constitution.
