It would be a mistake for the Government to dismiss yesterday’s demonstration against water charges and to believe that the worst is over in terms of public opposition. That is not to say it should either abandon the water charges or retreat into its shell for the rest of its term in office. There are important lessons to be learned for the coalition parties and for others seeking power at the next general election.
An element of guesswork is involved in interpreting the motivations of those who marched. However a few things are clear. One is the mess that was made of introducing the water charges and Irish Water itself. While the charges have been cut to a more manageable level, the Government and Irish Water now need to show that the whole structure can work, and can start to address the problems in our water infrastructure.
There are wider issues, too. The Government underestimated the squeeze on household budgets and overplayed its hand in the run up to the budget. The huge increase in taxes and charges have taken their toll, together with pay cuts and, in some cases, job losses. It will be challenging to manage the economy and the national budget, particularly against the uncertainty of the international environment. But more sure-footedness and competence is surely the least we can expect.
The Government has completed the job of getting the country out of the bail-out, but it has so far failed to set out convincingly a new agenda after this was achieved. It has also been lacklustre in pursuing the promised agenda of political and administrative reform. The danger now is that, with its confidence hit, the Coalition loses all sense of direction as the general election approaches.
The improving economy may give the government a window to win some support back before the next election. However it must take the opportunity. It needs to tell us what it hopes to achieve in its remaining term in office and how it plans to do so. An element of positioning by all parties is inevitable as a general election comes into view. But the priority – and responsibility – for the Government is doing its job in the meantime.