Am I turning into G. Hook? Just like him, I registered my family home for Irish Water and am patiently waiting for the bill to fall on the hall floor.

Of course there is a large dollop of curiosity involved. Will the details be right? What will the cost be? Will there be a massive leak somewhere? We’ll come back to the leaks later.

I was never one who protested at the setup of Irish Water. I knew the system needed fixing and there was nothing revolutionary about paying for water. Our country cousins do it but this got lost in translation. The latest TV ad explains what water infrastructure is perfect. It actually explains why we need a massive investment quite well. Here it is:

A simple message explained in a straight forward manner. Irish Water should have been doing this from day one instead of engaging in the disaster which was the last 12 months. A clear message.

This brings us to leaks. We have been constantly told that any ‘major’ leak  on the supply side of a meter would be subject to a ‘first fix’. Obviously we thought it would be any leak.

Not so fast say the CER (they regulate Irish Water). They are suggesting that a leak must be over six litres a hour  before  it qualifies for the first fix. Here’s what they told Jonathan Healy on Lunchtime:

God help us.

It’s a ‘consultation’. The six litres is an opening gambit. Do they not understand a first fix should do what it ‘says on the tin’?

My feeling is ‘with friends like these...’

If we’re lucky, the consultation will be, like the last one, completely ignored and the first fix will be open to all. Of course, the next question will be what will it do to the overall budget?

Will bills be effected?

Probably but for what it’s worth, the Daunt household will pay.

Mad, sad, or both?