The government swept to power three years ago with a mandate for reform, but this week, two issues were conflated in the public mind that made people wonder if anything will ever change.

The controversial pay-off for the retiring chief executive of the CRC, and over €80 million spent on consultancy by Irish Water were the subjects of much discussion this week. Do these events show that nothing has changed, or that accountability is finally a feature of public governance?

Sarah was joined this afternoon by:

• Odran Flynn, regular political analyst on Newstalk,
• Blair Horan, former general secretary of the CPSU, the trade union for lower-paid public servants.

You can listen back to the discussion below, and it's available for download through podcast apps and our Newstalk app. You can also let us know your thoughts on Twitter: @talkingpointnt.