It sound a lot like the multi stalk switches on the steering column has failed, this has, by all accounts on VW Group motoring forums, been a weakness of this age of Fabia/Polo/
Ibiza and maybe even A1.
If you had access to a
diagnostic tool like VCDS I'm guessing that you could demand the front washers directly and see what effect that had, ie if they worked, then the actual function would get switched if commanded directly and not via an external demand from the stalk switch.