Turned Out Nice Again

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This afternoon.

Scenes from this afternoon’s march from the Garden of Remembrance to the Dáil to protest at water charges and burn some bills.

More as we get it.

Pics Leah Farrell/Photocall Ireland) Mary Harrington Mick Caul Judi

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68 thoughts on “Turned Out Nice Again

  1. Soundings

    Wish I had a bill to burn, but haven’t received a bill yet, though I haven’t registered.

    No penalty for non-registration, no penalty until after the next general election for non-payment.

    Shura you’d be mad to register & complete bonkers to pay.

    In brass tacks terms, we all know the €60 or €160 annual bill after the so-called grant will rocket to €300-plus (probably around €500, though I wouldn’t discount the €1,000 figure claimed by some) if the principle of water charges is accepted. This is the point at which the principle sinks or swims.

    1. ahjayzis

      Well it’s 400 quid for my 3 bed place in London, so you can imagine how much IW will be, considering it’s probably a lot more bloated and poorly managed than Thames Water.

    1. Wayne.F

      Actually they are reporting 10,000. Which is more than most outlets who are reporting 7,000 or so.

      But remember Paul Murphy says the movement is growing because 10,000 is obviously more than there largest turn out of 100,00. That’s AAA maths at it’s best

      1. noeleen o hagan

        Think Paul Murphy was referring to AAA protests of which the protest today is one. 100,000 ware at the Right2Water protests which are organised by Right2Water. This is a large turnout by AAA
        standards.

    2. ___

      In fairness, you can only actually see a couple of hundred protesters in any of those photos.

    1. 15 cents

      the marches are badly advertised. i wanna do to them but only hear about them once theyre over.

          1. Zarathustra

            Sticks and stones may break your bones, but whips and chains excite me ;) *cough, not really…*

    1. Siobhán Yearn-Ickers

      Nope, got the date wrong for the Pride march, thought he’d just go with it…

    1. ollie

      I have no problem paying either. in fact I’ve been paying for years. I just don’t fancy paying twice.

      1. Jonotti

        Anti fluoride, chemical trails, anti eviction, freemen of the land. These beliefs come as a set.

  2. Zarathustra

    You have to pay for water in Greece, so what’s the significance of the Greek flags, even if they’re being carried by Greek people who live in Ireland?

    1. Lorcan Nagle

      It’s solidarity with the rise of the left in Greece – not because people think you don’t pay for water in Greece.

      1. Zarathustra

        If they’re in solidarity with the left-wing parties in Greece i.e. Syriza, then they should fly the flag of Syriza, not the national flag; at the most basic level, Syriza are anti-privatisation of water, not water charges – so it’s not in solidarity with the Irish protestors, like you say.

        1. Lorcan Nagle

          I am tragically sorry that people tragically don’t do things for the reasons you think they should do them, and I really mean that.

          1. Zarathustra

            Lorcan, your glib retort defies your initial argument. I don’t have a problem with people protesting, but I do find it disingenuous when the flag of another nation is being hijacked by protestors of another nation to further their own cause, or, being used as a political statement by citizens of its own country, to hop on a bandwagon in another country in a hypocritical manner.

            I lived in Greece for eight years, and if I were to say that the Greek people are a very proud nation, and they have full respect for what their flag represents, I’d be understating it slightly. Not to mention the fact that their collective pride is based on their culture and history and how they have helped formulate and contribute to what we now call civilisation in the western world – among many other contributions. They don’t like to see their national flag being abused, and most of the Greeks I met when I lived there are very aware of how beautiful their country is, and how its natural resources, history & culture need to be protected – and they’re right.

          2. Lorcan Nagle

            And none of that changes my “glib” reply. The water protests aren’t just about the water, that’s just the last straw for a lot of people who’ve suffered under the Local Property Tax, the USC, cuts to public services and everything else, and facing nothing but a patrician and condescending attitude from the government.

            The rise of Syrizia represents hope and solidarity. Especially given the problems the Greeks have faced in trying to turn things around since the elections.

            So yeah, you can complain about why they’re flying the flag, and you can continue to assert they’re flying the flag because they somehow think they don’t pay water charges in Greece, but it doesn’t mean you’re going to suddenly be right no matter how many times you repeat it.

          3. Zarathustra

            Hi Lorcan, for a start, your reply was glib. Leaving that aside, I know that the water charge protests here in Ireland aren’t just about water; however, for one moment can you try to understand where I’m coming from? I’m from generations of farmers who have had to source and treat our water for the past three hundred years – and pay our taxes on top of that – while hundreds of thousands of people throughout the past few centuries have never paid for any water consumption or usage at all. I know you might write this off as not being true, but it is. Every drop of water used on our farms has been paid for, not just through the basic facilitation of usage but also through every other tax that any individual with a PRSI number in this country has to pay for.

            Secondly, I have no idea how you can come to the conclusion that the rise of Syriza is a good thing; when I lived in Greece, KKE was the only communist party of note and they were ignored and ridiculed because, by and large, the Greek people are very discerning when it comes to common sense and democracy; now, bearing this in mind, one has to remember that Syriza [and Golden Dawn] are similar to Sinn Fein/ AAA/ some independent [sic] politicians in Ireland, in that, they talk a lot from the opposition benches, but they say very little of substance: in other words, it’s rhetoric – and, when it comes to credible policies, insofar as realistic economics are applied to the situation in Greece at the moment, I can tell you for sure that if it weren’t for the strength of the tourism industry in Greece, and the cheap deals on charter holidays, the country could easily be bought for a few hundred rubles – because that’s the route Syriza are going down with Putin. And, may I say to you, regarding your mention of the Greek peoples’ faith in Syriza and their hope and solidarity, as I mentioned before, Syriza don’t represent the Greek people, and at the very least, they’re in government as part of a coalition because of a protest vote by the members of the electorate predominantly on the mainland who bothered to vote – who were desperate for change. However, that change they want so desperately will only come from the bottom up; tax evasion in the Greek islands is a culture and a way of life, yet, those same citizens want first class education and a top class health service, but they’re not willing to pay for it through paying taxes. So, Lorcan when you say ‘Especially given the problems the Greeks have faced in trying to turn things around since the elections.’, all you are doing is showing that you really have no idea how the system unofficially works in Greece; whether you, or I, like it or not, the fact is, trying to govern so many islands with so many resident populations, and collect taxes from them at the same time is like herding cats. And, while I think of it, your water charges argument/ alliance re: Syriza is moot, especially considering that so many inhabitants on islands in Greece have to harvest water and sh**e in the woods/ mountains, or a hole in the ground, even nowadays.

            Finally, as for your last statement: ‘ So yeah, you can complain about why they’re flying the flag, and you can continue to assert they’re flying the flag because they somehow think they don’t pay water charges in Greece’. Firstly, you have completely missed my point regarding the respect the Greek people have for their flag, and secondly, you need to re-read my previous comments because I never said that they don’t pay water charges, in fact, I said the opposite because I paid them myself when I lived there. Also, when you wrote ‘it doesn’t mean you’re going to suddenly be right no matter how many times you repeat it.’ – I don’t understand what you mean by that. I’m not frivolous or fickle in my assessment of anything and I tend to hold my own counsel on matters of importance [as opposed to looking to internet opinions]; however, when I witness ignorant and biased statements which are based on nothing more than a personal dissatisfaction or grievance towards [any] government policy about preserving water as a natural resource, then, I disagree, and whether you like it or not, my point of view is as valid as yours – if not more so, because, like I said, for three hundred years my family have been sourcing our water, and paying taxes to support town and city folks’ supply in this country.

          4. Lorcan Nagle

            Oh, I completely understand your point. I’m just dismisssing it because it’s rubbish.

          5. Joe the Lion

            Right now someone on Greek Broadsheet is posting about “defiant” Irish protesters and asking “Was it for Thyssen?”

          1. Zarathustra

            I agree, Ionabike: however, the protestors will never see it as such because it’s a bandwagon they’ve hopped on to, and at this stage the [core] protesters are only protesting for the sake of it. But they really scored an own goal by carrying Greek flags because water is recognised as a valuable resource in Greece, and the Greeks have no problem paying for it.

  3. Lorcan Nagle

    Good turnout, but didn’t seem to be as many as the last two. The crowd were packed into Molseworth Street between the junction with Kildare Street and the corner beside the Passport office – though I could see there were protestors on the other side of the truck as well – right outside the Dáil gate.

    1. Mr. T.

      They’ll be calling around to your posh tax dodger leafy estates next, making you look at them in their tracksuits with their arses hanging out.

  4. Grosse Bite

    I’d just like to say ‘Thank you’ to all those who turned out today.
    You made Dublin even more beautiful, because you were beautiful.

    Mind you, I did have the sun in my eyes…
    -just sayin’

    Only messin’. You were beautiful, all of you.

  5. Truth in the News

    How come RTE Radio this Morning never mentioned the March, could it be, that the last remmants
    of Pat Rabbitte’s fellow travellers are operating a blackout, before they are kicked out, I wonder had
    Noel Curran the Radio switched on this Morning or do’es he know whats going on at all in the newsroom.

      1. Zarathustra

        Exactly, Kevin, it’s not news anymore because most reasonable people understand that water, as a natural resource, has to be paid for; and, I noticed that ”Truth in the News’ only referred to RTÉ, as opposed to any other news sources available, whether it’s through TV/ radio/ internet. Unless of course, TitN, lives his/ her life through RTÉ – which is in itself problematical.

        1. TheDude

          ‘Reasonable People’, haha, the government PR soundbite its is back baby. Also sprach and stay on message

          1. Joe the Lion

            Z is right though, most reasonable people do understand there is a cost to providing potable water, what we expect is that this is managed in a transparent, ethical manner.

        2. Truth in the News

          Water – Natural Resource Has to be Paid For……
          What About the Gas Field Given away to Shell
          Actually the most bizarre aspect of paying for “Natural
          Resources” is the payment made to ESB for Water
          extracted from the liffey and supplied to Dublin City.
          And Thousands of People Marching in the Capital City
          isin’t News…..could it be that “Group Think” has infected
          a wider cohort and maybe gone viral…?

    1. guy bague

      Becuase its not in favour of same-sex marriage. 12 people at an AAA Right2Water march are in RTE money ackersherly 12,000 YES Una Mullallys and Jim Sheridans.

  6. Jack Ascinine

    In fairness, the fellow does represent the country as “the gimp”. Ireland’s been taking it up the arse with a red ball in the mouth since 2008. Don’t really know what anyone would be shocked about. Except the cheap leather. Surely for a day out you’d spend more on an outfit…

    1. Zarathustra

      Well, Mr Ascinine, based on the photos above, I can’t see a rear view of him, so if you’re going to use him as a ‘gimp’ analogy for the state of Ireland since 2008, surely you should provide some photos? :)

    2. TheDude

      The Economic Hit Men with enthusiastic acquiescence of our governments have ensured we will be in that get up for a very long time

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