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Note: A version of this article was originally published on 28 February. It’s being reposted this morning, in light of this afternoon’s planned ‘Right2Water’ rally.
BELIEVE IT OR not – it’s just over a year-and-a-half since the TheJournal.ie was publishing articles with headlines like ‘Why don’t the Irish protest more?‘.
Since then, of course, we’ve seen a significant protest movement build-up against the imposition of water charges.
The turn-out for the first mass Right2Water protest in Dublin City Centre surprised many. In the months since then, we’ve had a series of well-attended demos on the same subject.
And despite predictions that numbers would fall back after the Government’s climb-down on water charges in November of last year – turn-out for the last Right2Water rally, back in March, showed there were still significant numbers willing to turn-out to protest.
Another major demo is planned for this afternoon, on Dublin’s O’Connell Street. Again, organisers have said they’re expecting tens of thousands of people to turn out.
So how did we get here? What have been the defining events?
We take a look back at some of the key moments in the campaign against water charges since the start of last year – examining what kicked-off the movement, and how it developed…
The water issue had been (if you’ll pardon the expression) bubbling-under ever since the Government came to office.
However, the waste-water really hit the fan at the start of 2014 after CEO of the utility John Tierney said on RTÉ radio that €50 million of its set-up costs had been spent on consultants.
It emerged at an Oireachtas committee meeting the following week that, in fact, just under €86 million was slated to be spent on consultants, contractors and legal advice as part of an overall budget of up to €180 million to establish Irish Water.
Fianna Fáil’s Barry Cowen said Environment Minister Phil Hogan had either “deliberately lied” or accidentally given “a gross underestimation” to the Dáil about Irish Water costs.
Months of uncertainty over charges followed – with Labour attempting to put clear distance between themselves and Fine Gael on the issue in the run-up to May’s local and European elections.
The Government was accused of treating the public “with absolute contempt” as the Taoiseach told the Dáíl that nothing had been “signed off on” after yet another Cabinet meeting on the issue.
Eventually, on 6 May, Phil Hogan announced in a press conference that the average household would pay €240 per year – and said that those who didn’t pay would be faced with reduced water pressure.
People with disabilities, carers and the elderly would receive an allowance of €100 a year, he said – but details had yet to be finalised.
Against that political backdrop, stories from anti-metering protests – in Dublin and Cork, in particular – began to appear in the news media more frequently.
Gardaí attended an action at an estate in Togher in April after locals refused to allow contractors to install meters in the pavement – and we began to see scenes like this develop for the first time…
From the same week, in the capital – protests organised by ‘Dublin Says No’ and other groups were staged, targeting meter installations in Raheny, Kilbarrack, Edenmore, and surrounding areas.
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said he couldn’t understand why people were protesting the metering process “because in fact the water meters are being installed to enable households to reduce what they will have to pay”.
On the political front – the local elections came and went, with Labour being dealt a drubbing.
Meanwhile, Trim resident Tony Rochford – who staged a hunger strike outside the Dáíl the previous year – became the first person to be arrested for blocking meter installation.
Rochford had parked his blue Isuzu jeep across a road in the Steeple Manor estate. Protesters on the street had earlier been warned they would be arrested if they didn’t allow workers access.
There was an upsurge in the number of protests against meter installations throughout last summer – both in Dublin and elsewhere.
Hundreds of social media groups began to spring up – with activists organising local meetings, and arranging to block off access to streets, as workers arrived.
At an event in Raheny, one man was arrested after protesters confronted the Taoiseach at the opening of a specialist hospital.
In what would be the first of several angry demonstrations protesting the presence of a senior politician, around 20 people shouted ‘traitor’ as scuffles broke-out around Enda Kenny’s car.
Irish Water, it seemed, couldn’t go a week in 2014 without some sort of controversy cropping up.
The fact that the semi-state planned to asking for PPS numbers had many householders worried last summer.
It was essential, in order to ensure people receive the allowances they are entitled to, the utility’s head of communications insisted.
Independent Catherine Murphy raised the issue in the Dáil as TDs returned after their break, telling the Taoiseach people had “huge concerns about handing over PPS numbers to what is in effect a private company”.
Around the same time, Irish Water had to apologise after sending more than 6,000 letters with incorrect names to customers.
As public opposition to charges in general (and, after their disastrous year, Irish Water in particular) grew throughout the summer – left-wing groups began to get organised, forming the umbrella group ‘Right2Water’.
Their first national ‘day of action‘ in October confounded the expectations of many.
Organisers had initially estimated that around 10,000 people would show up, but figures late on the day put the turnout at at least eight times that.
The same day, former Socialist MEP Paul Murphy – who had run a focused anti-water charges campaign – claimed victory in the Dublin South West by-election, taking Brian Hayes’ old seat.
The Budget was just days away, but it was clear that – unless the Government did something drastic – water was going to dominate the agenda for months to come.
Local protests continued throughout October, with the Government’s budget announcement that most people would be entitled to €100 tax relief on their bills appearing to have little or no effect on the national mood.
Amidst the continuing drip-drip of revelations and controversies, nothing encapsulated the communications difficulties at the beleaguered semi-state more than the confusion over whether tenants or landlords would be liable for the charges.
The company said that tenants would have to pay, but in the event of them not registering with Irish Water the landlord would be contacted (more legislation is planned on the issue this year).
Meanwhile, veteran Fianna Fáil TD Willie O’Dea said he would be refusing to hand over his PPS number to Irish Water, saying they had given “no reasonable explanation” why he should.
Around 100,000 people turned out for the second mass ‘day of action’ against water charges on 1 November.
Speaking that evening, Enda Kenny defended the charges – saying they had been put in place “as an alternative to increasing income tax”.
The issue continued to dominate the political agenda, and within days Tánaiste Joan Burton was telling reporters that she imagined a family of four would likely face an Irish Water bill of less than €200.
A spokesperson for the Labour leader later said that she was expressing her own view and that work on the exact figures remained “ongoing”.
As she attended an event at a college of further education in the south-west Dublin suburb of Jobstown, the Tánaiste’s car was surrounded for hours by a group of angry protesters, who banged on her vehicle and chanted ‘peaceful protest’.
TD Paul Murphy took part in the demonstration – and a tense stand-off developed over the Saturday afternoon, as more and more gardaí were sent to the scene, including the Public Order Unit.
Burton was eventually escorted away – and two people were arrested that evening.
The incident sparked a long debate over the tenor of the continuing demonstrations. Events attended by the Taoiseach were also met with protests, and Alan Kelly said his constituency office had dealt with a bomb threat.
After numerous leaks, the Government finally confirmed its revised charging structure to the Dáil on 19 November.
The charges were reduced considerably, with two flat rates introduced – to be in place until the end of 2018.
The Dáil voted to back it the following day.
Soon, however, Government TDs were back to shooting themselves in the feet. Fine Gael’s Noel Coonan came in for major criticism after he warned that Ireland faces “an ISIS situation” if the more extreme elements of water charge protests are not “nipped in the bud”.
More and more international media outlets began running stories on the protest movement in the wake of a third Right2Water protest, outside Government Buildings, on December 10th.
Channel 4 News reported the Garda estimate of 30,000 protesters, quoted Gerry Adams and Paul Murphy, and emphasised that the charges were seen as “double taxation” by opponents.
Attendance was down on the previous mass actions – although turn-out was still impressive for a weekday afternoon.
The protest was marred by some sporadic violence – a garda sustained facial injuries outside the Dáil, and officers clashed with demonstrators on O’Connell Bridge as they attempted to reopen the thoroughfare to traffic, following a break-away protest.
After a quiet few weeks at the start of the year, the meter protests were back in the headlines at the end of January after footage emerged in which a water protester could be heard calling President Michael D Higgins a ‘midget parasite’.
It later emerged that the protester in question was one of the main campaigners behind the ‘Dublin Says No’ group, Derek Byrne.
Byrne later apologised for using the word ‘midget’.
Despite speculation that the controversy might put some people off attending a rally organised by DSN and other grassroots groups the following Saturday – the Dublin action (which wasn’t organised by Right2Water) still attracted a large turn-out.
Other rallies around the country were also well attended - showing there were still huge numbers of people willing to turn out to voice their opposition to water charges.
The arrests of more than 20 people - including Murphy – by gardaí investigating the false imprisonment of Joan Burton, meant the issue of water protests stayed in the headlines again, for days.
Locals activists claimed the gardaí were “terrorising” the community and questioned why groups of up to ten officers were turning up to make the early-morning arrests.
Responding to accusations of political policing, Enda Kenny insisted investigations were purely a matter for gardaí.
And – regarding his own security arrangements – he said that he didn’t feel extra protection was needed, despite gardaí being “more than anxious” to provide it.
It was reported two weeks ago that charges were about to brought in relation to the south-west Dublin protest – but so far, none have materialised.
Alongside the Jobstown arrests, the jailing of four water protesters – including DSN’s Byrne – for breaking a court injuction, provided a new focal point for some anti-charges campaigners.
It followed the latest in a string of court hearings on the matter.
The protesters had been told to stay at least 20 metres away from GMC Sierra workers tasked with installing the meters – but evidence showed they had broken the terms of that order.
The protesters were sentenced to between 28 and 56 days in prison – however they were all freed early, after a surprise ruling from President of the High Court Nicholas Kearns, who found there were a number of errors in the warrant of committal, ordering their detention.
Weekly rallies took place, each Saturday afternoon, while the protesters were in prison.
Newsagents and shops will have to pay more to sell cancer
Great comment there Gerry…..NOT
I hope they are fully staffed with nurses in the BURN department!
But will purveyors of other Carcinogens pay more? I’m sure Mr Noonan will ignore Hep sufferers: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are viruses that cause acute or chronic liver disease. They are listed in the report as “known human carcinogens” because studies in humans show that chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections cause liver cancer. Approximately one million United States residents are chronically infected with HBV, which primarily is transmitted through sexual contact (50%) and intravenous drug use (15%).
I hate what has happened. I feel sorry for people coming out of school. Go to college? Can’t afford fees. Get a job. Is none. Maybe a part time job. Sure how do you save to go to college on a part time wage?
Cigarette cause Cancer n its Legal n Cannabis is Anti Cancer n its illegal….
My choice is what I choose to do,
And if I’m causing no harm, it shouldn’t bother you “Mr whoever Make the Law”
@ Criminal
imagine the amount of money generated if they make drugs legal then tax it
At least they left the box of matches alone?
A Nurse Bank, I Would love some interest from that.
In NY where I work we use agency and Per Diem (bank nurses). It is cheaper as they don’t get benefits or pension contribution. Great for my budget but these group work when they want not when I need them. And nary a one is available when it comes to the holiday season. It causes morale issues with regular staff who are paid less and have little choice about schedules.
If that’s the case in NY Mary, be very interesting in Ireland to see how that works
I see that already where I work , the full time staff have little or no choice when it comes to Christmas but the permanent but cover staff refuse to work it as they feel they don’t have to , however they are the first to complain about not getting ti work every Sunday and Bank holiday . It has caused serious problems amongst staff . Wont work in the long term.
how many people and new born babys have cancer and never smoked??????????
You should take the percentage of people who don’t/have never smoked and get cancer versus the number of smokers who get cancer. Or you could engage your brain before you comment.
Loads, if they live near Chernobyl.
Anything about when the free gp care comes in for under 6s?
Why not bring in “free” everything? How many jobs will be lost raising the €40,000,000 to pay for “free” under 5 doctors visits? I’d guess about 4,000.
I just asked a simple question. I have read a good few of the budget documents abduction could see no detail on it. as this article is aimed at going into more detail on the budget, i thought it was the appropriate place to ask the question.
and* not abduction!
Sandra legislation will be needed here and this is likely to be heavily opposed ao I reckon wr’re looking at Q4 2014 before anything concrete is in place
If I visit a doctor under five times , is it free?
Is that a typo the our debt will rise from 205 MILLION to 2011 BILLION by 2016? Or should the million have been billion???
Typo. We are already screwed
Making cigarettes illegal or having any drug illegal for that matter is not a good idea. While this may seem counter-intuitive, it makes sense.
Crimes rates from a black market would increase and thus violence. Stress would be put on Gardai, courts and the justice system and also cost a fortune. Products would be adulterated and worse for your health. People would still end up in hospitals which would cost the government a fortune (taxing such products is what’s paying these bills currently).
Not to mention illegality prevents researchings developing cures and treatments due to harsh licensing of studying illegal substances.
All on top of making criminals of otherwise law abiding people AND making access to their treatment more difficult!
Sandra its under 5′s. I dunno, but would imagine Jan 1st as with most reforms.
It is 5 and under apparently and i heard it is later in 2014 as they haven’t planned anything yet to implement it.
I am building an Ark.. Any takers?
have your say