The Fine Gael thread

[mikehunt]

So it appears that 6 in 10 Irish people are rightly refusing to pay twice for their water.

I have yet to hear a decent case put forward for not paying water charges - do you have one Mike??

The fact that Dennis O Brien bought the company that installed the water meters. A company he bought off IBRC despite it being one of the lowest offers. This company were then awarded the contract to install the meters. Said meters are now redundant. Result =  Tax payers are out of money but DOB wins. Let me know if you want me to explain historic links between FG, DOB, state contracts and cost to the taxpayer.

People here will have you believe this is about water infrastructure. None so blind as those that will not see.

Whatever about O'Brien's involvement, the water metres made sense. But the populist hysteria of the lunatic fringe, followed by the lack of vertebrae of the Government led us this farcical situation.

No doubt more farces are on the way, but both sides are to blame.

I love the snobbery when people call protestors "the lunatic fringe", "looney lefts". One hundred thousand protested in Dublin last year and thousands others across the country did the same. That's a lot of lunatics. Enough lunatcis to make the govt change tact. Once the people smelled a rat the govt left the ship that is Irish Water like the rats they are.

A lot of people, myself included, have no problem paying for water. Our problem is with Irish Water. Another HSE type set up where efficiency, accountability, transparency and value for money are nowhere to be seen. I would prefer to open it up to competition to private companies. Give a regulator powers over pricing. There are problems with privatisation but it's preferable to the quango that the Blueshirts want to set up. 

[Maguire01]

So it appears that 6 in 10 Irish people are rightly refusing to pay twice for their water.

I have yet to hear a decent case put forward for not paying water charges - do you have one Mike??

Irish Water.

That's an argument against the management / administration, not charges.

[muppet]

So it appears that 6 in 10 Irish people are rightly refusing to pay twice for their water.

I have yet to hear a decent case put forward for not paying water charges - do you have one Mike??

The fact that Dennis O Brien bought the company that installed the water meters. A company he bought off IBRC despite it being one of the lowest offers. This company were then awarded the contract to install the meters. Said meters are now redundant. Result =  Tax payers are out of money but DOB wins. Let me know if you want me to explain historic links between FG, DOB, state contracts and cost to the taxpayer.

People here will have you believe this is about water infrastructure. None so blind as those that will not see.

Whatever about O'Brien's involvement, the water metres made sense. But the populist hysteria of the lunatic fringe, followed by the lack of vertebrae of the Government led us this farcical situation.

No doubt more farces are on the way, but both sides are to blame.

I love the snobbery when people call protestors "the lunatic fringe", "looney lefts". One hundred thousand protested in Dublin last year and thousands others across the country did the same. That's a lot of lunatics. Enough lunatcis to make the govt change tact. Once the people smelled a rat the govt left the ship that is Irish Water like the rats they are.

A lot of people, myself included, have no problem paying for water. Our problem is with Irish Water. Another HSE type set up where efficiency, accountability, transparency and value for money are nowhere to be seen. I would prefer to open it up to competition to private companies. Give a regulator powers over pricing. There are problems with privatisation but it's preferable to the quango that the Blueshirts want to set up.

Yes you get offended when I criticise one side, but ignore my criticism of the other side. So you are not against criticism, merely against criticism of the side you support.

Meanwhile in your last 10 posts you have called people blind, turkeys voting for Christmas and delusional. 'Lunatic fringe' is obviously below the belt.

But then you also defended Paul Murphy.

[mikehunt]

So it appears that 6 in 10 Irish people are rightly refusing to pay twice for their water.

I have yet to hear a decent case put forward for not paying water charges - do you have one Mike??

Already paying for them via road tax?

You're not paying enough. If you were, the country wouldn't be running a deficit.

Your approach to address the defecit is to introduce a HSE II? Jesus wept.

[Maguire01]

So it appears that 6 in 10 Irish people are rightly refusing to pay twice for their water.

I have yet to hear a decent case put forward for not paying water charges - do you have one Mike??

The fact that Dennis O Brien bought the company that installed the water meters. A company he bought off IBRC despite it being one of the lowest offers. This company were then awarded the contract to install the meters. Said meters are now redundant. Result =  Tax payers are out of money but DOB wins. Let me know if you want me to explain historic links between FG, DOB, state contracts and cost to the taxpayer.

People here will have you believe this is about water infrastructure. None so blind as those that will not see.

Whatever about O'Brien's involvement, the water metres made sense. But the populist hysteria of the lunatic fringe, followed by the lack of vertebrae of the Government led us this farcical situation.

No doubt more farces are on the way, but both sides are to blame.

I love the snobbery when people call protestors "the lunatic fringe", "looney lefts". One hundred thousand protested in Dublin last year and thousands others across the country did the same. That's a lot of lunatics. Enough lunatcis to make the govt change tact. Once the people smelled a rat the govt left the ship that is Irish Water like the rats they are.

A lot of people, myself included, have no problem paying for water. Our problem is with Irish Water. Another HSE type set up where efficiency, accountability, transparency and value for money are nowhere to be seen. I would prefer to open it up to competition to private companies. Give a regulator powers over pricing. There are problems with privatisation but it's preferable to the quango that the Blueshirts want to set up.

A regulator DOES have power over pricing. The same as if a private company was in charge. The difference is that any IW profits won't go to private shareholders. At least know the basics if you're going on a rant.

[muppet]

So it appears that 6 in 10 Irish people are rightly refusing to pay twice for their water.

I have yet to hear a decent case put forward for not paying water charges - do you have one Mike??

Already paying for them via road tax?

You're not paying enough. If you were, the country wouldn't be running a deficit.

Your approach to address the defecit is to introduce a HSE II? Jesus wept.

And what is yours?

[foxcommander]

I loved "truffle hunters".

[macdanger2]

So it appears that 6 in 10 Irish people are rightly refusing to pay twice for their water.

I have yet to hear a decent case put forward for not paying water charges - do you have one Mike??

The fact that Dennis O Brien bought the company that installed the water meters. A company he bought off IBRC despite it being one of the lowest offers. This company were then awarded the contract to install the meters. Said meters are now redundant. Result =  Tax payers are out of money but DOB wins. Let me know if you want me to explain historic links between FG, DOB, state contracts and cost to the taxpayer.

People here will have you believe this is about water infrastructure. None so blind as those that will not see.

So it's to do with how IW was setup rather than with the charges themselves?

[foxcommander]

We could tear the bailout agreement up and join Greece on the brink of oblivion, but considering we have honoured every other vastly more expensive part of the bailout, we would be spectacular imbeciles to try to pull the whole thing down now.

How much has been paid and how much is left to pay?

[muppet]

We could tear the bailout agreement up and join Greece on the brink of oblivion, but considering we have honoured every other vastly more expensive part of the bailout, we would be spectacular imbeciles to try to pull the whole thing down now.

How much has been paid and how much is left to pay?

€30bn to Anglo, (best case).
€6.5bn to AIB
€5.5 Irish Nationwide
€3.5bn BoI
€350k EBS

The rate at which we are repaying the above has changed, so the total amount we will have to pay back in the end has come down a bit. FG/Labour are claiming credit for this very, very, minor achievement. It is about their only achievement.

But people here need to understand that we were railroaded into taking on board all of that debt, first because of the Bank Guarantee, and second because of a pincer movement (ECB and Prof Honohan) shafting the last Government, just as negotiations were getting underway with the Troika.

We were never going to able to do an Iceland or Argentina style default, but we should have done what Greece are doing now and taken the ECB to the brink, at the very latest before we signed up to the Bailout. Then we had some leverage. We would have had to sign some version of a bailout, default was not realistic, but I think we had the ECB over a barrel and could have negotiated a much better deal. Hence my problem with Honohan.




http://www.thejournal.ie/in-numbers-the-banking-bailout-30272-Oct2010/

[mikehunt]

So it appears that 6 in 10 Irish people are rightly refusing to pay twice for their water.

I have yet to hear a decent case put forward for not paying water charges - do you have one Mike??

Already paying for them via road tax?

You're not paying enough. If you were, the country wouldn't be running a deficit.

Your approach to address the defecit is to introduce a HSE II? Jesus wept.

And what is yours?

They've been to the trough once too often. Time for them to look at cutting costs.

[muppet]

So it appears that 6 in 10 Irish people are rightly refusing to pay twice for their water.

I have yet to hear a decent case put forward for not paying water charges - do you have one Mike??

Already paying for them via road tax?

You're not paying enough. If you were, the country wouldn't be running a deficit.

Your approach to address the defecit is to introduce a HSE II? Jesus wept.

And what is yours?

They've been to the trough once too often. Time for them to look at cutting costs.

Such as?

[foxcommander]

So it appears that 6 in 10 Irish people are rightly refusing to pay twice for their water.

I have yet to hear a decent case put forward for not paying water charges - do you have one Mike??

Already paying for them via road tax?

You're not paying enough. If you were, the country wouldn't be running a deficit.

Your approach to address the defecit is to introduce a HSE II? Jesus wept.

And what is yours?

They've been to the trough once too often. Time for them to look at cutting costs.

Such as?

Lets start with government pensions/payments/parachutes including all past politicians.

How about them leading by example first.

[muppet]

So it appears that 6 in 10 Irish people are rightly refusing to pay twice for their water.

I have yet to hear a decent case put forward for not paying water charges - do you have one Mike??

Already paying for them via road tax?

You're not paying enough. If you were, the country wouldn't be running a deficit.

Your approach to address the defecit is to introduce a HSE II? Jesus wept.

And what is yours?

They've been to the trough once too often. Time for them to look at cutting costs.

Such as?

Lets start with government pensions/payments/parachutes including all past politicians.

How about them leading by example first.

I couldn't agree more.

Now show me which party has that as their policy and I will vote for them 100%.

[lynchbhoy]

So it appears that 6 in 10 Irish people are rightly refusing to pay twice for their water.

I have yet to hear a decent case put forward for not paying water charges - do you have one Mike??

Already paying for them via road tax?

You're not paying enough. If you were, the country wouldn't be running a deficit.

Your approach to address the defecit is to introduce a HSE II? Jesus wept.

And what is yours?

They've been to the trough once too often. Time for them to look at cutting costs.

Such as?

Lets start with government pensions/payments/parachutes including all past politicians.

How about them leading by example first.

I couldn't agree more.

Now show me which party has that as their policy and I will vote for them 100%.

We need a revolution!!!

It's not just the politicians who need a salary/expenses haircut!

The quangos and civil service too!

Loads of scope to reduce cost and at least pay to fix the pipes that are leaking up to 50% of the treated water ( according to yesterday's papers and the guy I know who works in the water industry).

But as you say, gov and civil servants won't vote for cuts!

Sure we can't make the cops to walk the beat/streets anymore - even the fresh recruits are above this!!!! Or so they think!