AS A LAND than almost boasts more quangos than citizens, you would think that the people of Ireland might take a philosophical approach when dealing with the quirks of the semi-state bodies.

Not so, it would seem, when it comes to probably the most-hated of all quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations (try saying that three times fast).

The mere mention of the words Irish Water has been enough to send people into a fit of rage with the multiple whammies of the despised water charges, staff bonuses and data-protection concerns.

But after all those teething problems, things couldn’t get much worse right? Well, read on to see how things for Irish Water managed to slide even further downhill as we recap the week that was in business:

Need to know

How not to make friends and influence people, Irish Water style

From millions in consultants’ fees to bonuses for staff who “needed improvement”, there were already many (well at least 14) reasons why the public might be angry about Irish Water – aside, of course, from being hit with yet another charge after years of tax increases and austerity.

But, after already raising concerns by asking people for their PPS numbers as part of their applications, Irish Water hit a new low when TheJournal.ie revealed the utility had sent the bank details of 10 customers to their landlords in error.

Not exactly confidence-inspiring stuff. And to make matters worse, one of the affected customers said he had tried to take the problem up with the organisation, but hit a brick wall over the phone, email and Twitter.

district9andthreequarters district9andthreequarters

The breach followed Irish Water’s apology last month to over 6,000 customers who received letters intended for other people.

Since then there have been renewed calls for the head of Irish Water CEO John Tierney, including from the now-sacked minister who had a major hand in setting up the quango.

There was also a two-man “kitchenware revolution” outside Leinster House, banging pots and pans to protest against Irish Water. As you do.

Meanwhile, Environment Minister Alan Kelly said Irish Water would simply need to deal with customers “in a fantastic way” after all the controversies.

Laura Hutton / Photocall Ireland Environment Minister Alan Kelly Laura Hutton / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

Far be it for us to offer suggestions on how a quango with a €50 million consultancy budget should go about its business, but a good start could be to answer the phone when a customer whose details you have just leaked to their landlord decides to call.

Nice to know

• Bad bank Nama should be wrapped up within four years, if all goes to plan. That much we learned from the agency’s 2015 statement, before CEO Brendan McDonagh fleshed out a few more details in front of a Dáil committee. Turns out over 93% of the €17.5 billion in assets that have been offloaded since Nama was set up have gone to offshore buyers – the majority venture capital funds
• Microsoft killed Nokia, the mobile phone brand which gave many people (this writer included) their first taste of the cellular-communications world in the late 90s and early 2000s. The US IT giant officially confirmed the long-running rumour that it was axing the brand name from its mobiles after buying out the Finnish firm in April. Here’s a recap of our little homage to Nokia (born 1987, died 2014): 

Now you know

• Tesco released its latest financial results and they made for some very ugly reading. The once all-powerful UK supermarket giant has taken a 92% haircut to its profits over the last six months – a period which has included a management shakeup, a €334 million accounting blunder and its chairman announcing plans to step down
• Uber raised some eyebrows and blood pressures with its short-lived promotion in the French city of Lyon. The plan was to get “incredibly hot chicks” to drive around customers for a few days under the slogan “who said women don’t know how to drive?”. But the idea was quickly pulled after the ride-sharing company was accused of sexism

Avions de chasse / YouTube Avions de Chasse girls were to feature in the Uber promotion before it was pulled Avions de chasse / YouTube / YouTube

• House prices might finally be starting to level out a bit in Dublin after nosebleed increases over the past year. But these things are relative of course, apartment prices are still up over 35% in the capital over the past 12 months
• Permanent TSB, the smallest of Ireland’s three bailed-out banks, has been widely tipped as the lender most likely to fail European bank stress tests when results come out on Sunday. Bloomberg reported the bank would have to find €800 million after failing the test

One for the road

In loving memory of Nokias past, here’s a video that puts forward a compelling case for why people should buy a 3310 (release date circa 2000), the “Chuck Norris of mobile phone”, over those overrated iPhone 6 things.

A couple of good reasons: the battery lasts for three weeks and all the games come free. Snake anyone?

READ: Big pharma, the price of power and a little thing called the Budget >

READ: Budget busters, more budget babble and startups as far as the eye can see >

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More