The march and demonstration on Saturday 21st was peaceful, contrary to what was forecast here and this is a good sign. Various groups are still targeting individual politicians when they attend functions and once these remain peaceful protests it will keep the pressure on the politicians. One point though is that it's not acceptable to protest outside politicians' homes, as they may have partners and children, who have no direct involvement in politics. All in all, if momentum can be maintained and a massive turnout takes place at the next national demonstration against water charges and Irish Water, then it will definitely make politicians sit up and take notice. It is all the more important to keep the pressure on all the political parties, as they are now in election mode and promises can be extracted more readily. This is particularly true as regards the opposition parties. The Government are very unlikely to do an about-turn but it has happened before in relation to medical cards.
20/02/2015
End of Mass Demonstrations against Water Charges.
Five people have been imprisoned for refusing to obey a court order. They have been convicted in a court of law and as can be seen below, there is a protest march scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday 21st February. Earlier in this blog (11/02/2015) it was pointed out that the anti water-charges protests had taken a disturbing turn, which would have negative effects on the overall Right2Water campaign. The arrests and imprisonment of these five people is the beginning of the end for the mass demonstrations against the water charges. The scenario is as follows: there will be a fairly large demonstration and march to Mountjoy Prison tomorrow. The demonstrators will be all fired up about "the injustice" of the treatment of these five people ( who were convicted in court). There will be a large garda presence, on the basis that they are expecting trouble. This will further provoke the crowd, some of whom will not be able to contain themselves and are waiting for this opportunity. There will be clashes between the gardai and some protesters, which will be widely broadcast and printed in the media. The vast majority of people who have been taking part in the peaceful demonstrations up to now will recoil at what they see and read and will no longer turn out. The next national demonstration against the water charges will be small by comparison to the previous ones and will be attended mostly by the people at tomorrow's march. End of Story.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=936876239665181&set=a.570497409636401.1073741825.100000284416316&type=1&theater
16/02/2015
Yesterday we were informed that 'economic confidence is on the up', which implies an improvement in the economy in Ireland. The economy is growing but the question is who is benefiting from this growth. The article below reports that the situation in Accident & Emergency departments is worse than last year or the year before. Now how does that tally with an improving economy. Are conditions getting worse, the more the economy improves? Note that conditions are "considerably worse" In A&E departments!
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/overcrowding-in-emergency-departments-is-considerably-worse-than-this-time-last-year-30995000.html
15/02/2105
There has been lots of criticism about the 'political policing' related to the blocking of Joan Burton's car in Jobstown. It seems to have been a one-off situation and it might be better if the people involved i.e. Paul Murphy and the others who have been arrested, kept a dignified silence. I think this would be far more effective than the rhetoric and protests that have been taking place. As in any protest movement, the danger is that people get sidetracked and it dilutes the message, which is to stop water charges and abolish Irish Water. That should be the focus, not whether Paul Murphy broke, or did not break, the law. Similarly, the socialist representatives in the Dáil should refrain from criticism of the subsequent arrests in such emotionally-charged language. Anti water charges politicians need to challenge the spin being sent out by the government, for example, in the article below from today's Sunday Independent. The article is against the accusation of 'political policing' and the reactions both inside and outside the Dáil to it. However it does contain it's own little bit of spin, buried in there with criticism of protesters and certain politicians. This part refers to the economic confidence being 'on the up' and government parties improving in polls. The writer of the article accuses anti-austerity politicians of "manipulating the narrative' and that's what opposition politicians and others should challenge - the government's assertion that the economy is better and people's circumstances are improving. I commented on this article as I believe it is better to debate the issues, rather than have an never-ending circle of empty rhetoric.
jeriakis (this comment on article was not published by the Sunday Independent)
It is fairly obvious that 'political policing' is happening in Ireland in relation to the Jobstown protests and the blocking of Joan Burton in her car. However, the antics in the Dáil following the remarks of Ruth Coppinger have reduced political discourse in Ireland to farce. The article below from today's Irish Independent sums it up - recognising the difference between an insult and an idiom. The more usual idiom is to "call off the dogs", which means stop threatening, criticising or hounding a person or group. Therefore, we can assume that to "call out the dogs" means to do the opposite. It seems everyone, including Paul Kehoe, the government chief whip, wants people to acknowledge 'the hurt' they supposedly feel when someone makes a statement like this. This type of pseudo-hurt is hard to take from people in general and politicians in particular. Most politicians have necks like 'roecrete' and getting up on a high horse over a legitimate expression is political opportunism at its worst. The real issue with the Irish Government is that they have nothing to talk about, as the Country is being governed from Europe. As a result, we get all sorts of proposed legislation to fill the void, e.g ban smoking on beaches, in private cars, do something about pigeon infestation etc. In contrast, actual legislation which really 'hurts', such as that surrounding the setting up of Irish Water "is made a dogs dinner of". What more can you say ?
http://tinyurl.com/msaqbsp
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11/02/2015
The anti-water tax protests have taken a disturbing turn recently. Apart from the Jobstown protest, which might have been viewed as a 'one off', it seems that small groups are harassing politicians and protesting outside council meetings, as in Fingal. The only way for the Right2Water campaign to succeed is to continue peaceful demonstrations and marches against the water charges and the company Irish Water. Activities other than peaceful demonstrations will have two negative consequences. Firstly, they will alienate the ordinary people who take part in these protests, many of whom are taking part in protests or demonstrations for the first time. The majority of people will not want to be associated with such actions. Secondly, the government will ignore the message from the protests on the basis that it's just the usual 'rent-crowd' stoking up trouble. The government will be delighted that these fringe groups are causing trouble, as it will deflect attention from the real issue. Already, the arrest of the Jobstown protesters, including Paul Murphy TD, has attracted a backlash over the arrests. There is no need for this to become the issue and people need to realise how important it is not to get sidetracked and to avoid creating a set of circumstances which could be exploited by the government to split the Right2Water campaign.
05/02/2014
"January was the worst month for emergency department overcrowding since the Government came to power, and the second-worst month ever, according to an analysis of trolley figures by The Irish Times.
http://tinyurl.com/kf83qlp
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30/01/2015
The 'recovery' in Ireland is well underway, according to the government. That is if you omit families being made homeless, a disaster of a health service and young people either emigrating or unemployed. If that's a recovery, then I wouldn't like to see a recession.
http://tinyurl.com/la8ud9r
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29/01/2015
I notice that Michael Noonan, having initially supported SYRIZA's call for a European Debt Conference, is now of the opinion that it's not a good idea. Obviously, his current opinion has been passed on to him from Berlin. Joan Burton also came out in support of this but has gone remarkably silent on the issue. The three main political parties, Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Labour must be sweating while they wait to see what SYRIZA achieve. Why would the Finance Minister of Ireland not support an initiative that might help reduce Ireland's debt burden?
02/01/2015
The lack of funding for the health service in Ireland is having a horrendous effect. The latest situation is related to people on trolleys, waiting for a bed in hospital. Last week there was a record number of people on trolleys waiting for admission to hospital. There are beds available but they can't be used because of a shortage of staff. It's immoral for a government to be paying back bondholders who gambled on Irish banks, while the citizens of the country have a third-world health service. It is hypocritical of Enda Kenny to go to Paris to support the demonstration against the attack on free speech and the Charlie Hebdo murders, while the people in Ireland could be dying as a result of the neglect of the health service. Of course, all the politicians that attended that demonstration hijacked it for political purposes and the Irish Prime Minister is no different. How many of these leaders have imprisoned journalists or tried ( and often succeeded in ) preventing the publication of articles or other information that would damage them or their parties ? All the time these politicians preside over the continued suffering of their own people.
30/11/2014
The government are trying to take the sting out of the anti water tax protests by dishing out goodies. Apart from the changes in the Water Charges Plan, Enda Kenny is going to reduce the top rate of income tax below 50% if the government is re-elected. Now we're all familiar with Enda's promises so we can take that with the usual grain of salt, coupled with the fact that it's easy to offer something when you know there's no chance you'll be there to deliver it. Fine Gael has been badly damaged by all the controversies of the past number of months and it will take a miracle for them to form the next government, unless it's in coalition with their other partners in toxicity, Fianna Fáil. Not to be outdone, Joan Burton in her role as Minister for Social Protection, has announced this measure but there's not a hope this will save the Labour Party from being demolished in the next general election. I hope the anti water-charges protests planned for December 10th will bring hundreds of thousands onto the streets and let this government know they no longer have the support of the people.
21/11/2014
The Government's new plan for water charges exposes what the real agenda is in relation to this issue i.e. just another tax. There will be no need to conserve water now that there is to be a flat charge for water. Given that it's now an across- the- board tax, it's obviously a regressive tax. This means that lower-paid people will pay a greater percentage of their income in water tax than people on higher incomes. It's all very well for the government to say that the charges are affordable and fair, when they are neither for many people struggling to survive.
The Taoiseach left the Dáil before the opposition replied to the new plan, which shows his attitude and ignorance towards the opposition in particular and the public in general. It would be hard to imagine any form of acceptance of Fianna Fáil currently but Enda Kenny is probably the best campaigner on their behalf for the past number of months. Since the Troika left Ireland, the government has shown itself incapable of running the country and has made a mess of many issues, e.g. medical cards, household tax and Garda whistleblower issue. There is also the emerging issue about senior politicians, including members of Fine Gael, being accused of tax evasion, with accusations of the investigation being obstructed and the final report being 'buried'.
It is hard to say if the new water tax plan will quell the protests but one way or another, there is no way Fine Gael and Labour will form the next Government. Unfortunately, the Labour Party has lost all credibility and will be all but gone after the next general election in Ireland.
18/11/2014
I decided to begin this blog following the Irish Water debacle. The politicians in the main political parties, Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Labour seem to think that affordability is the main reason for the opposition to water charges. It is one of the reasons but there are two other serious points.
1. The insistence on giving PPS numbers when registering with Irish Water
2. Linked to PPS numbers is the potential privatisation of Irish Water in the future.
I don't understand why Enda Kenny rejected a proposal to hold a referendum on the privatisation of Irish Water. He has stated that it will never be privatised but nobody believes politicians any longer and nobody trusts them to keep their promises.
My thoughts stray back to Denis O'Brien, lurking in the background. His company, ESAT, was awarded a mobile phone licence when Fine Gael was in government and controversy and questions have surrounded this event since then. Moreover, Denis seems to have connections with Fine Gael, which may be helpful, taking the cronyism and 'golden circle' aura that seem to pervade politics and business in Ireland.
The Government is backing down but Irish Water will not be abolished nor will water charges (or the water tax, as most people consider see it) be abandoned.
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/send-in-the-clowns-theyre-already-here-30993029.html