Mikey Sheehy, kicking doors and a chat with the Taoiseach

Things appear to be turning, well, militant in the County Council Chamber with even the mild-mannered Mayor of Kerry Cllr Mikey Sheehy threatening to unleash his inner and very angry Liam Neeson by suggesting they start ‘kicking in doors’ at Uisce Éireann, the State’s water supply company.

One is inclined to think that Mikey Sheehy should catch a breath and step back from those doors he’s planning to kick in (anyway, aren’t the Sheehys more famous for kicking footballs than doors???) and consider why Uisce Éireann continues to struggle with obvious sub-standard performance in Kerry and all over the country.

The focus of Sheehy’s impatience was the way Uisce Éireann has handled the water contamination problem in Ballyheigue. As we all know, contaminated water is a scourge but in relation to Ballyheigue the suffering has been made more unbearable by Uisce Éireann’s lack of candour and openness with either consumers or county councillors.

The fury has been growing for as long as the problem lasts, with Ballyheigue councillor Michael Leane telling his colleagues that Uisce Éireann should ‘get off their arses’. He branded the water company’s lack of communication with consumers a ‘disgrace’, a criticism that’s hard to dispute.

Councillor Angie Baily also expressed her anger, but she had a plan as well. She wanted all the county councillors to hire a bus, climb on board, drive to Dublin and then march into the HQ of Uisce Éireann in a suggested protest that is reminiscent of farmers dumping sheep or bales of hay at the Department of Agriculture.

Lads and ladies, will ye all calm down. Because every single syllable ye utter has precisely diddly-squat effect on what Uisce Éireann does and does not do.

And the reason for that is simple; Uisce Éireann couldn’t give a fiddlers about what Kerry county councillors say about them. And they aren’t worried either about what their customers think.

The only thing that’ll get Uisce Éireann’s attention is what the Government does, because the Government controls the purse strings. And, as we all know, it’s all about money.

And when it comes to apportioning blame for water supply problems, in Kerry and nationwide, we should be looking at the long-time failures of successive governments to invest in crucial infrastructure. That’s why the State is now spending billions of euro in catch-up capital investment with Uisce Éireann wanting to spend at least €14 billion on infrastructure to the end of 2029.

It is a measure of how much this issue has deteriorated into pure political performance when County Councillor Tommy Cahill of Glenbeigh calls on the Government to step in. Is this Tommy Cahill who’s the son of Deputy Michael Cahill who’s a Fianna Fáil TD, which is the party leading the current Government?

And if that’s the case, could he not just have a chat with daddy? And ask daddy to have a chat with John Browne, the Minister for Housing and Local Government, who might have a chat with his water company Uisce Éireann.

Although, considering the lack of success Browne has had on the ongoing housing crisis, maybe not.

One thing is certain, however; county councillors have no influence on Uisce Éireann, none whatsoever.

Pressure needs to be put on the Government. Now, what about Mikey Sheehy kicking down that door in Government Buildings that has ‘Taoiseach’s Office’ written on it; after the dust settles, he could then talk about Uisce Éireann with his Fianna Fáil party leader Micheál Martin.

How’s that for a plan?