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    The bio-financialization of Irish Water: New advances in the neoliberalization of vital servicesv


    Bresnihan, Patrick (2016) The bio-financialization of Irish Water: New advances in the neoliberalization of vital servicesv. Utilities Policy, 40. pp. 115-124. ISSN 0957-1787

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    Abstract

    This paper examines ongoing efforts to establish a new semi-state, commercial water utility in Ireland. The new utility, Irish Water, marks a significant break with the previous public service model of water and wastewater provision both in terms of how it is financed and how it is governed. The Irish government asserts that these reforms are a necessary response to the twin challenges of an aging water infrastructure and the fiscal challenges of the Irish state. In this paper I outline how the convergence of these environmental and financial demands are provoking new advances in the neoliberalization of water services. I argue that the organizational and technical composition of Irish Water suggests the extension of both financial logics and highly technical environmental metrics into the water sector, what I call the process of bio-financialization.
    Item Type: Article
    Keywords: Bio-financialization; Water; Neoliberalism;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Social Sciences > Geography
    Item ID: 12143
    Identification Number: 10.1016/j.jup.2015.11.006
    Depositing User: Patrick Bresnihan
    Date Deposited: 14 Jan 2020 16:55
    Journal or Publication Title: Utilities Policy
    Publisher: Elsevier
    Refereed: Yes
    Related URLs:
    URI: https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/12143
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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