by LUCY FITZGERALD
Over 100,000 people march through the streets of Dublin during the Right2Water National Assembly on 10 December 2014. Photo courtesy of the author.
A very contentious issue in Ireland is the government’s decision to introduce water charges for every household. There have been mass anti-water charge protests throughout the country organized by opposition political parties and campaign groups. Claiming that the charge goes too far after six years of debilitating austerity measures, protestors are encouraging people to prevent water meters from being installed in their areas and are organizing a mass non-payment of water charges. This issue has garnered much attention and even celebrities, such as Liam Neeson, have disputed the charge. This is the first time that Irish people have mobilized on a national scale against the government’s austerity measures.
While the government maintains that it is a necessary tax to encourage water conservation, repair leaks to pipes, and clean the water supply – which is undrinkable in certain areas of the country – the protestors’ claim that the money will be used to pay bonuses to the staff of Irish Water, Ireland’s national water utility. The protestors are not pleased that the government has already paid millions for consultants at Irish Water and are calling on the government to change the constitution so that Irish Water will never be privatized.
During the most controversial anti-water protest, Deputy Prime Minister Joan Burton was trapped in her car for hours and was hit in the face with a water balloon. Ireland’s President Michael D Higgins was also targeted by protesters and received verbal abuse after a visit to a school. Five demonstrators have been found in contempt of court and sentenced to at least 28 days in prison. Campaign groups, on the other hand, have filmed evidence of disproportionate violence from the police against protesters and have spoken out against the unexpected early morning arrests of 20 anti-water charge demonstrators, claiming that it is ‘political policing.’
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