In Deep Water, a new book by Sunday Business Post Political Editor Michael Brennan, tells the inside story of the creation of Irish Water and the collapse of water charges.
In a special edition of The Post Podcast, he tells Ian Guider that, contrary to the widely-held perception, the concept of water charges was conceived in Ireland and not by the troika, with the Green Party agreeing on water meters and charges with Fianna Fáil a year before the bail-out.
The book goes into detail about how the new utility was set up by the Fine Gael-Labour coalition - including the ignored warnings, the rows and the political mistakes leading up to the protests that eventually sank water charges.