Ireland: Protests against national water company Irish Water

The national water company Irish Water officially started the 1st of January 2014 and yet is the subject to national agitation. The company has spent more than 50 million Euros to consultancy fees. Representatives of Irish Water have to explain these expenses to a public commission this week. In the mean time in the streets of Dublin citizens are protesting against the installation of water meters.

In Ireland citizens this year will start paying for their water consumption. Over 1 million water meters will be installed the coming years. Irish Water, a fusion of 34 regional water authorities, has become part of the commercial, national energy company Bord Gais. The Irish government chose for this structure because of synergy opportunities. The new water company could profit from the existing systems and processes from Bord Gais. Citizens and politicians got angry after finding out nevertheless a lot of money was spent on consultants advising on systems and processes.

Protests 
In Dublin the founding of the national water company is leading to protests. Last week workers had to postpone the installation of the water meters because of the protests. The Irish government believes scaling and pricing water will lead to improved water quality. The biggest threat of drinking water in Ireland, mainly made out of surface water, is the e-coli bacteria. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the number of reported infections should be diminished drastically.

More troubles expected
Trevor Haslett, former water director of the Northern Irish water company Northern Ireland Water, predicts in an article in the Irish Times more problems will come for Irish Water. He advises the company to look at other national water companies and learn from them. According to Haslett semi-public water companies are not agile in taking decisions about essential investments. He foresees problems because Irish Water should deliver more quality if they start sending water bills. Irish Water also needs to improve the waste water infrastructure in order to comply to European regulation (WFD). If they will not succeed, they risk getting high European fines.