Water charge

News & Analysis of the resistance to the attempt to introduce a Water Charge from 2014, By late 2014 regular demonstrations of tens of thousands against the charge were taking place and confrontations were taking place in estates across the country as GMC Sierra crews tried to install meters in the face of community resistance. For the successful campaign against the water tax in the 1990s see our archive at http://www.wsm.ie/water-tax

Drop the charges against the Jobstown 27 - march this Saturday

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At the start of the week the Garda served summons on many of those they've been telling the media on and off they were going to prosecute for allegedly 'unlawfully imprisoning' Joan Burton in a 100,000 euro limo for a couple of hours. It would be laughable if the potential sentences were not so severe and if the reality is all too close to some tinpot dictatorship where the elite live on a cloud far above everyone else.

This Saturday at 13.00 there will be a protest march from the Central Bank to the CCJ in Parkgate Street in solidarity with the men and women who have been summonsed to court.

A good turn out is important, the failure of the anti-water charges movement to mobilise when activist Steven Bennett was jailed without trial for weeks sent out the message to the state that internal divisions would allow them to pick us off section by section.  It's important that this impression is reversed by the movement standing together.

 

On Their Nastiness and Ours - TV3’s People’s Debate with Vincent Browne & the water charges

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We woke this morning to the shocking news that “Gardaí were called to Clontarf Castle in Dublin last night where a recording of TV3’s People’s Debate with Vincent Browne was taking place” [1]. We are informed that the television debate “descended into chaos as two Government ministers were jeered at by anti-water charge protesters” [2]. According to the Minister of State and Labour party TD Áodhan O Riordáin, it was “nasty stuff” [1] [2].
 

Lack of media coverage of August 29 Water charges march - video

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The print media on Sunday failed to give any prominence to the huge water charges demonstration that had filled O'Connell street the day before. This view shot from 3 locations in the rally gives an idea of the vast numbers, yet as shown the front pages of the main Sunday paper failed to mention it.

10's of thousands take to Dublin streets against water charges on Aug 29th - video

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One more tens of thousands took to the streets of Dublin as the governements attempt to force water charges on the population looks more and more like it has failed.  This high quality footage of the march in progress will give you a sense of the size and composition of the marches.

 

We are winning the water war

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Our upcoming show of strength in Dublin on August 29th is going to be an absolutely huge gathering of people from all over the island to deliver a wholehearted 'No' to the Fine Gael/Labour government's plans to establish water charges.

"People should pay for the water they use" is a refrain we often hear from some suited up professional liar in the Dáil but it totally ignores the fact that we already pay for our water to the tune of 1.2 billion euros per year. How else would water come from our taps when we open them?

"We need infrastructure investment!" these politicians say. Yes, we do. So shouldn't the government be directing hundreds of millions of taxpayer money into repair, upgrade and maintenance work instead of setting up a company that has caused more leaks than it has fixed? Remember, when there is a water leak, Irish Water don't fix it, your local county council does.

Irish Water fails EUROSTAT – we advance

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Eurostat, the EU statistics agency, will likely decide today that the Irish State’s spending on Irish Water will stay on the exchequer balance sheet. Since Irish Water has failed the market corporation test, money spent on it will be included in the annual deficit and national debt (as measured to meet EU austerity targets). This decision is likely to hold until 2017 [1]. It follows a European Commission report earlier this year which questioned whether Irish Water was ever likely to be self-funding.
 

20th June Burn the Bills Water charges march in Dublin - video

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Thousands of people marched through Dublin June 20th to protest the continuing attempt to impose water charges on the 'Burn your Bills' protest.

Water Charges: 3 Reasons to March on June 20th

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The next water charges march happens in Dublin June 20th. Here are 3 reasons why you should do your best to be on it.

1. Both the government and Irish Water are refusing to release figures about the number of people who have not paid the bills. The reason is clearly that so far this figure is very high - if it wasn’t they would be sure to have it plastered all over every newspaper front page. A large turnout for this demonstration is important so that isolated non-payers do not get a sense that non-payment is not flagging.

2. Meter installation blockades have continued all around the country but for four weeks one well known Dublin protester Steven Bennett has been held on remand in Cloverhill prison because he refused to accept stringent bail conditions that would have prevented him protesting. The government abandoned attempts to intimidate protesters with the court injunction after the jailing of the Edenmore 4 backfired and resulted in mass protests. It’s essential that they continue to understand that repression will lead to protest and that they can’t pick off people they view as uncontrollables.

Media Baron Denis O'Brien Silences Nation

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The last 24 hours have demonstrated the truth of 'If you want to know who really rules you find out who you are not allowed to criticise'. As the image shows billionaire media mogul Denis O'Brien has managed to almost completely suppress stories about him in the few outlets he does not control.

Those media outlets he has ownership of seem to have somehow missed TD Catherine Murphy's revelation that somehow O'Brien had managed to only pay 1.25% interest on the 500 million he owed to IBRC (in effect to us) rather than the expected market rate of around 7.5%. The difference costs us about 30 million a year.

This isn't the first story of O'Brien getting a good deal from the IBRC. Almost a year ago the Irish Times reported "in a deal that again involved the writing down of bank debt. O’Brien took a controlling interest after he bought about €304 million of the Topaz Energy Group’s] loans from the State-owned Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC), in liquidation,for a reported €150 million."
 

More Arrests of Water Charge Campaigners in Dun Laoghaire

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There were more arrests of water charge campaigners in Dun Laoghaire yesterday (19 May) and two of the four arrested are up in court around now.

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