Mathematical Proof that Enda Kenny is a Liar and/or a Fool

The numbers in the maths come from Irish Water as agreed with the Regulator.
This is not politics. It’s science.

Here is Enda Kenny speaking on RTE News at Nine, after Alan Kelly had unveiled the revised water charges plan in the Dáil.

At 3:30 into the interview, he’s talking about the metering program and he says:

“It gives people the opportunity to conserve water and beat the cap. And there are 750,000 households that can beat that cap if they follow the instructions for conserving water and do so by a minimum of 10 to 15 percent. So there’s a real incentive there.”

He looks totally sincere as he says that. The problem is that what he says is patently absurd. He is either lying or he is a sock puppet parroting lies fed to him by others.

Based on numbers agreed by Irish Water and the Regulator – and using Irish Water’s own grid – these are the percentage reductions needed to equal the cap.

Note: These numbers are worked in detail in posts further down the page.
They use Irish Water’s own numbers.

For Kenny’s assertion to be true, there would have to be 750,000 households of 2 adults and 5 (under 18 years) children. That is the only combination that “beats the meter” and uses less than the capped volumes. It depends on that household achieving a 14% reduction. The ‘meter effect’ that Irish Water expect is 6%. It’s agreed with the Regulator and built into the original Assessed Charges for people awaiting meter installation.

His assertion ( his own or by sock puppet ) is a clear falsehood. (aka Lie )

Following the backlash against Irish Water in general and against the initial billing regime, the government introduced a temporarily capped system. It seems they still had doubts that this would be enough to quiet things down. The “beat the meter” scam is an attempt to fool people into thinking that they could easily pay less than the cap. The problem is that this scam will be uncovered as soon as the bills start coming in April 2015. The scam is therefore pure short-termism. Contain the backlash and deal with the new backlash when it arises in a few months. Hope that people will be too tired to object then.

As an aside, Kenny in that video claims that the Minimum Wage in Ireland is €35,000 per year.
He's been in the Dail 40 years. He's paid more than Obama. He's so disconnected from the reality of ordinary people that he can come out with howlers like that in a prepared speech on primetime news.

How can anyone trust the government?

The “Beat the Meter” scam shows contempt for the people. It is predicated on an assumption that the people are stupid.

• Are the bills going to rise to and beyond the original levels in a few years? Yes.
• Is Irish Water going to end up being privatised? Yes. Why is the government so insistent on not copperfastening a statement to the contrary.

They can make all the assertion they want to, but anyone who does not analyse them in minute detail is a fool.