***ALL THINGS IRISH WATER/WATER CHARGE RELATED POST HERE***

Fuhrer

TheChizler wrote: »

Well my point is that identity fraud is not unique to PPSNs, very possible without them. And also why are people more likely to become victims by giving their details to IW than any of those other organisations?

Because of the amount of data that IW will have, the relevant inexperience dealing securely with that data and the general malaise and incompetence that surrounds IW

tayto lover

Irish Water advertising for a Data Protection manager months after sending out letters asking for personal information like PPS Numbers and Bank Account numbers.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/search-for-irish-water-data-boss-begins-295584.html

Irish Water paying 19% bonuses for work not yet completed.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/1019/653388-irish-water/

You couldn't make it up.
No wonder people are angry and protesting.

TheChizler

tayto lover wrote: »

Irish Water paying 19% bonuses for work not yet completed.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/1019/653388-irish-water/

You couldn't make it up.
No wonder people are angry and protesting.

However, Irish Water is a new company and no actual performance awards have yet been paid out to staff.

It seems you can make it up.

Cantona's Collars

TheChizler wrote: »

It seems you can make it up.

Just as IW are doing as they go along.

Cantona's Collars

Coucillors on RTE News now,none of them happy at all with IW.To cap it all,the meeting they are having with IW has been suspended.IW decided they were too important to go meet councillors so as one said "Mohammed had to go to the mountain".

A dedicated line was set up for councillors,td's & senators to contact IW but nobody can get an answer.

TheChizler

zerks wrote: »

Just as IW are doing as they go along.

Hrm, admitting that something was made up through an unrelated comeback, I can't see how you couldn't have won that argument.

tayto lover

TheChizler wrote: »

Hrm, admitting that something was made up through an unrelated comeback, I can't see how you couldn't have won that argument.

Are IW not planning on awarding bonuses to under=performing workers to encourage them to perform better the next year?

Cantona's Collars

tayto lover wrote: »

Are IW not planning on awarding bonuses to under=performing workers to encourage them to perform better the next year?

In the normal world,is it not standard practice to NOT award under performers?

In IW,poor performance,half arsing things and general poor standards seem to be not just tolerated but rewarded.How people can defend this beggars belief.

VinLieger

zerks wrote: »

In the normal world,is it not standard practice to NOT award under performers?

In IW,poor performance,half arsing things and general poor standards seem to be not just tolerated but rewarded.How people can defend this beggars belief.

I agree it's ridiculous awarding bonus's when the company is in such a state however in my opinion it is equally ridiculous for anti-IW protestors to continue ignoring the state our water infrastructure is in and the fact that paying for how much water you use is the only logical way to manage the system

BoJack Horseman

zerks wrote: »

In IW,poor performance,half arsing things and general poor standards seem to be not just tolerated but rewarded.How people can defend this beggars belief.

No one is.

However they are part of Bord Gais & if these are the Ts&Cs of their employment within that organisation then what can we do?

People are forgetting that this bonus structure is the Bord Gais bonus structure.

BGE have the highest average pay among all private & semi state workers.

Questions should be asked as to why BGE have the highest average pay of any company.& what negative impact this has on fuel bills & energy costs.

However the unions are very much supportive of these bonuses, so their proxies amongst left wing parties would also be supportive.

Guy:Incognito

zerks wrote: »

Coucillors on RTE News now,none of them happy at all with IW.To cap it all,the meeting they are having with IW has been suspended.IW decided they were too important to go meet councillors so as one said "Mohammed had to go to the mountain".

A dedicated line was set up for councillors,td's & senators to contact IW but nobody can get an answer.

The meeting was suspended because protestors stormed in to it and surrounded the Iw reps.

Larbre34

BoJack Horseman wrote: »

However they are part of Bord Gais & if these are the Ts&Cs of their employment within that organisation then what can we do?

Here's a mad suggestion; refuse to condone this culture by not paying the charges?

BoJack Horseman

Larbre34 wrote: »

Here's a mad suggestion; refuse to condone this culture by not paying the charges?

I'm not sure refusing to pay your BGE bill is an effective protest against the BGE pay & bonus scheme.

As the majority shareholder the gov should be pushing BGE to constantly reevaluate pay to drive the best deal for customers & the state.

However all sides are in hock to the unions, so nothing will happen.

Larbre34

BoJack Horseman wrote: »

I'm not sure refusing to pay your BGE bill is an effective protest against the BGE pay & bonus scheme.

As the majority shareholder the gov should be pushing BGE to constantly reevaluate pay to drive the best deal for customers & the state.

However all sides are in hock to the unions, so nothing will happen.

Just because IW was grafted onto BGE like some sort of reverse cancer, doesnt mean they are the same. Bord Gáis has a long history, has developed a world class network and competes as an innovator and a supplier in a very lively market, which means its people are commercial types and their jobs market is mainly private sector, so bonuses are likely needed to attract talent.

IW is a bastardisation which absorbed a load of former public servants, many of whom already retired on handsome pensions, in order to set up a very expensive and unnecessary monopoly.

People are wise enough to see the distinction.

VinLieger

BoJack Horseman wrote: »

I'm not sure refusing to pay your BGE bill is an effective protest against the BGE pay & bonus scheme.

As the majority shareholder the gov should be pushing BGE to constantly reevaluate pay to drive the best deal for customers & the state.

However all sides are in hock to the unions, so nothing will happen.

Also note these are same union's behind the right to water group, they are literally playing both side's against the middle

gladrags

Death To Irish Water...

"Irish Water had to postpone the briefing amid rowdy scenes after a group of protestors managed to get into the Cork conference room at 11.30am.
Some politicians then objected to the briefing continuing with both protestors and media present.
Irish Water officials had initially agreed to allow the briefing proceed once the protestors remained at the rear of the room and did not interrupt proceedings.
Protestors would also have been allowed ask a few questions at the conclusion of the information session.
However, several councillors privately voiced their concerns to Irish Water officials and the briefing was later adjourned and finally postponed.
The protestors evaded security to get into the conference room where around 30 councillors were about to be briefed on the water charges regime by a senior Irish Water team.
Protestor John O'Donovan said he wanted to be able to put questions to Irish Water - and he warned that people would not be excluded from a vital information process.
"They wanted to keep us out but there is no way we are going to sit idly by - we want answers about what is going on," he said.
Anti-water charge protestors vowed that Ireland will witness an historic demonstration of people power next weekend as almost 70 demonstrations take place nationwide.
The vow came as 50 protestors demonstrated outside the Silversprings Hotel in Cork where Irish Water officials briefed councillors from Cork, Kerry and Clare on the roll-out of the metering and charges system.
The meeting followed repeated demands from councillors for detailed information on the water charge regime.
Some protestors donned Halloween costumes and carried placards proclaiming: "Death to Irish Water".
John O'Donovan said momentum is now fully behind the anti-water charge movement.
"We have been getting stronger and stronger and stronger. Next Saturday the Government and Irish Water will see for themselves just how the Irish people feel about water charges," he said.
Mr O'Donovan said the huge numbers now supporting national protests had finally made the Government realise the depth of fury over the charges.
Two other protestors, Elizabeth Hourihan and Rachel Murphy from the National Citizens Movement said they believed a High Court challenge could yet suspend the controversial charges.
"It is terrible what is being done to people who simply cannot afford to pay this double taxation," they said.
Many of the councillors attending the briefing said they supported the immediate suspension of the planned charges.
"The anger over these charges is rising by the day. The simple truth is that people simply cannot afford to pay these charges," Cllr Chris O'Leary (SF) said.
Sinn Fein later accused some members of Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fail of not wanting the briefing to proceed in front of the public and media.
In a brief statement, Irish Water said the planned Cork meeting was part of their information briefing programme."

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/irish-water-briefing-suspended-after-protesters-storm-conference-room-30704842.html

TheChizler

gladrags wrote: »

The protestors evaded security to get into the conference room where around 30 councillors were about to be briefed on the water charges regime by a senior Irish Water team.
Protestor John O'Donovan said he wanted to be able to put questions to Irish Water - and he warned that people would not be excluded from a vital information process.

I saw the words 'Cork' and 'council' and I immediately knew that name would crop up.

dar100

Down with all this

_Kaiser_

VinLieger wrote: »

I agree it's ridiculous awarding bonus's when the company is in such a state however in my opinion it is equally ridiculous for anti-IW protestors to continue ignoring the state our water infrastructure is in and the fact that paying for how much water you use is the only logical way to manage the system

You keep saying this but I've yet to see ANY evidence that this will happen..

So far all we have is...

- Millions squandered on "consultants"
- An expensive and failed PR/spin exercise
- Cars for some, Bonuses for all.. even the non-performers
- Data protection breaches
- Oh and of course, jobs for the FG hangers-on

The only thing we have so far is an expensive, incompetent billing company. I see no evidence that IW (who'll be employing the same shower that were SUPPOSED to manage the supply/infrastructure in the first place!) will be any more competent at that side of it than they have the rest

VinLieger

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

You keep saying this but I've yet to see ANY evidence that this will happen..

So far all we have is...

- Millions squandered on "consultants"
- An expensive and failed PR/spin exercise
- Cars for some, Bonuses for all.. even the non-performers
- Data protection breaches
- Oh and of course, jobs for the FG hangers-on

The only thing we have so far is an expensive, incompetent billing company. I see no evidence that IW (who'll be employing the same shower that were SUPPOSED to manage the supply/infrastructure in the first place!) will be any more competent at that side of it than they have the rest

Yeah and the only evidence we have of the current system is that it is underfunded since we do not pay for what we actually use and simply does not work having the infrastructures maintenance being completely separated by the 31 local authorities acting disparately and without any cohesive strategy

_Kaiser_

VinLieger wrote: »

Yeah and the only evidence we have of the current system is that it is underfunded since we do not pay for what we actually use and simply does not work having the infrastructures maintenance being completely separated by the 31 local authorities acting disparately and without any cohesive strategy

.. OR that the money has simply been pissed away on staff who aren't doing their jobs / (mis)directed into other projects etc

There's no evidence to support the idea that simply throwing more money at the problem will solve anything - and given how IW has been squandering cash so far, there's no indication that they'll be any better at fixing the problems either.

Bottom line is that IW is something that the government was forced into by the Troika as part of the bailout deals, but in typical FG/FF/Irish-politics-in-general fashion they couldn't do it without taking the opportunity to stuff a few of their friends in there as well and appoint themselves ridiculous salaries and benefits.

And that's why it'll fail... because the people seem to have FINALLY had enough of this incompetent, corrupt, wastefulness of OUR hard-earned cash by idiots who are there to serve us - not the other way around!

seligehgit

It's laughable that these bonuses have been reduced by a pathetic 4%,there should be no bonuses full stop.

CB19Kevo

I think water charges should come in,But over a extended time.
Think i will go and protest on Saturday though as the level of corruption and incompetency is like the bad old days of FF.
Government have made a complete mess of this and that should be made very clear to them.

_Kaiser_

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

.. OR that the money has simply been pissed away on staff who aren't doing their jobs / (mis)directed into other projects etc

There's no evidence to support the idea that simply throwing more money at the problem will solve anything - and given how IW has been squandering cash so far, there's no indication that they'll be any better at fixing the problems either.

Bottom line is that IW is something that the government was forced into by the Troika as part of the bailout deals, but in typical FG/FF/Irish-politics-in-general fashion they couldn't do it without taking the opportunity to stuff a few of their friends in there as well and appoint themselves ridiculous salaries and benefits.

And that's why it'll fail... because the people seem to have FINALLY had enough of this incompetent, corrupt, wastefulness of OUR hard-earned cash by idiots who are there to serve us - not the other way around!

This is the reason I will be attending my local protest on Saturday.

I have no issue paying for the water I use but I do have serious concerns over how much of my money will go towards the actual H2O and how much of it will line the pockets of the "jobs for the boys" brigade.

I don't align myself with the protesters that believe the charges should be scrapped and that the income tax for higher earners should bear the brunt. We are (well, most of us) all consumers of public water and should all contribute. But I want to air my own grievances and make it clear to both Irish Water and the Government that I am not one bit impressed with the system they are forcing me to pay into which is why I will be attending the protest this Saturday.

Berserker

I have no problem with those who chose to protest against them but a lack of cop on seems to be slipping into the protests. I was in North Kildare today and some idiot was putting up posters advertising an upcoming protest but he was hanging them over stop sign on the road.

Little CuChulainn

Berserker wrote: »

I have no problem with those who chose to protest against them but a lack of cop on seems to be slipping into the protests. I was in North Kildare today and some idiot was putting up posters advertising an upcoming protest but he was hanging them over stop sign on the road.

You should have seen Coolock. The protestors had the bright idea of blocking the Irish Water vehicles from leaving an estate. Irish Water guys just locked up the vehicles and left. Queue a load of protestors complaining about not being able to get their vehicles out of the estate because the IW vehicles were blocking the exit after being abandoned.

Little CuChulainn

Little CuChulainn wrote: »

You should have seen Coolock. The protestors had the bright idea of blocking the Irish Water vehicles from leaving an estate. Irish Water guys just locked up the vehicles and left. Queue a load of protestors complaining about not being able to get their vehicles out of the estate because the IW vehicles were blocking the exit after being abandoned.

Love it! Good on IW workers using their heads and giving the protesters a taste of their own medicine!

Geuze

If water charges aren't introduced, then what other tax will be increased to make up for the lost revenue?

Or what public spending will be cut?

We have fiscal deficit targets to meet.

mikeym

What exactly are these bonuses for???

For doing a good job?

Irish Water are a toxic company full of ignorant ceo's and Enda kennys Cronies.

Im glad the protesters disrupted the meeting in Cork earlier today.

Berserker

mikeym wrote: »

What exactly are these bonuses for???

For doing a good job?

Well, people on SW are getting an Xmas bonus for doing nothing.

Little CuChulainn wrote: »

You should have seen Coolock. The protestors had the bright idea of blocking the Irish Water vehicles from leaving an estate. Irish Water guys just locked up the vehicles and left. Queue a load of protestors complaining about not being able to get their vehicles out of the estate because the IW vehicles were blocking the exit after being abandoned.

Wow, that is seriously dumb.