About Last Night

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Scenes from the anti Irish Water protest outside Leinster House, Dublin

A female garda was knocked unconscious after being struck by a traffic cone and was brought to St James’ Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, a Garda spokesman said.
Two men were arrested during the demonstration, and former minister for justice Alan Shatter accused protestors of being “fascist” when his car was surrounded as he attempted to drive through the front gates of Leinster House in the early stages of the protest.

Female garda knocked out at Dáil water charges protest (irish Times)

 (Photocall Ireland)

Meanwhile…

shatter

Bill writes:

We spent some time outside the Dail today and observed Alan Shatter getting into his car and driving out through a protest at the gate no problem. He returned again within an hour knowing that the protest was there (pic above)

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135 thoughts on “About Last Night

  1. ReproBertie

    Alan Shatter returned to the Dáil within an hour in full knowledge of the protest being there? Clearly he was trolling. What other possible reason could he have for leaving and then returning to the Dáil?

    1. newsjustin

      I dunno….doing a bit of work? I guess most of the protestors would not immediately understand the concept :-)

      1. scottser

        hahaha and they all wear tracksuits, and have expensive phones, hahahaha and they all vote sinn fein and they’re all lone-parent, council estate dwellers hahaha

        dickwad

      2. bob

        stfu you muppet. maybe if youre fine gael ass chums werent cow towing to Germany and instead tried to create real jobs then these people wouldnt need to even be out protesting .

    2. Rob_G

      He’s an elected TD and, more importantly, a citizen of this republic; he’s free to come and go as he likes.

      1. bob

        hes loyal to Israel first before ireland, his host country. And he needs to think twice before calling Irish citizens ‘facist’ given that his own party are rooted in Blueshirt neo fascism, and his own tribe Israel regularly attack and commit mass murder of women and children in Gaza/Palestine.

    3. ReproBertie

      Bill writes that when Shatter left the Dáil he drove “out through a protest at the gate no problem” so why would he expect things to be any different upon his return?

      1. Spaghetti Hoop

        ^ Oh lordy that’s good – can’t believe I missed that story.
        *wipes tears of laughter*

    1. Mister Mister

      What, a handful of clowns looking for a fight, without the first clue of what the political ideology they’re protesting under is ?

      1. S

        Were you there… I think not, otherwise you’d know the stupidity of the statement you just made.

    2. TheMightyOne

      impose austerity, ie endeavour to stop spending more than you earn.

      these people would have a public expenditure equalling that of the Celtic tiger if they could with complete disregard for the consequences.

      the simple fact is they are not smart and they are knackers, if they weren’t abusing the gardai they’d be mugging someone down a laneway

        1. TheMightyOne

          nothing to do with class, in the way that you mean my friend.
          knackers are knackers regardless of where they fit on the social ladder

        2. VinLieger

          Austerity literally means not spending more than you have it has nothing to do with classism, unless your saying people of a certain class cannot understand the basic principles of living within your means?

      1. scottser

        you know broadsheet, i’m confused about why certain comments get deleted and why others don’t. you let some serious mouth-breathers away with awful sh1te sometimes.

      2. Sam

        You’re omitting the payment of interest on odious debts arising from the recklessness of freeloaders within the banking and property speculating members of society. It’s only natural that there will be public anger about that.

        It goes without saying that the handful of troublemakers do the rest of the protestors no favours.

        1. fluffybiscuits

          People do cut corners to try and live but face up to reality, there is only so much people can do. What is it this week? Feed the kids or pay the electricity? We should sell the car to keep the roof over our heads? Thats the harsh reality for a lot of people. 1/5 people presenting to homeless services I read at one stage are children. Get off your high horses….those ivory towers will come crashing down some day…

          1. Vote Rep #1

            True, the government should have just kept borrowing way more money then they could afford and pretended everything was fine and dandy. It would have made things easier for everyone. Far better than austerity.

          2. Zuppy International

            Everything is fine and dandy (except for the State’s instance on paying the odious debt run up by criminal bankers).

        1. fluffybiscuits

          @Vote Rep they could have brought in financial transaction tax, closed tax loopholes and started up indigineous industries that exported abroad…

          Myopic thinking at its best…

          1. Vote Rep #1

            They did bring in a form financial transaction tax, hence the insurance & pension funds went mental. Something should have been done about the tax loopholes but I think they were stuck between a rock and hard place there. If the companies up and left to Luxembourg or the Netherlands, you’d then be complaining about them doing it. Started up indigenous industries that exported abroad sounds likes something as vague as creating jobs. Create semi state bodies to export things abroad? Or what exactly? Myopic ffs. And like that, there would be no austerity and the crumbling economy and ruined banks would be all been fine. Jesus.

      3. Mark

        You can’t speak on behalf of protesters, you have no idea what peoples view on public expenditure is. Austerity kills. It serves only the rich. I really don’t think all the protesters would be mugging someone down an alley. The only people doing the mugging is this disastrous FG/Lab pack of liars. Your generalisations betray your ignorance.

      4. barry D

        . ‘these people’ are out fighting for your right not to be screwed over by your govt just as much as their own. Youre and ignorant judgmental wankbag talking straight out of your loosened sphincter but at least give them credit for having integrity and passion and basic courage (something you clearly lack) to fight for their rights . you utter fking moron.

      5. Linda Ni Chinneide

        so why spend so much on setting up Irish Water in the first place, and whilst we are at it who actually did all the overspending in the first place to get us into all this debt obviously these people didn’t otherwise they wouldn’t be protesting about it now you moron. Get an education!!

  2. Mister Mister

    Bill, you don’t get democracy if you think a TD, no matter how disgraced, is not entitled to enter and leave their place of work as they see fit.

    You’re full of crap with your conspiracy theory that he was provoking you. In fact, drinking from a glass of water would provoke some of the scum at that protest, case in point pic 3.

  3. VinLieger

    Wasn’t a protest, was thugs looking for a fight and other irrelevants just trying to keep their faces in the paper and voices on the radio

    1. Dongle

      +1 and playing into the governments hands by being yobs. They discredit genuine protesters.

    2. Clampers Outside!

      I think Murphy summed it up well the other night on RTE ‘Independents’ programme when he said the swelling of support for IW protests at the start wasn’t really about just IW… it was about lots of things people were pissed off with. But the IW crew of protestors are incapable of seeing that.

      At least Murphy does.

  4. Owen

    A waste of police resource for zero gain. And peaceful protests should be non-intimidating.

  5. Dubloony

    So a TD coming & going to the Dail is a provocation? Ah, come off it!
    If you go looking for a fight you generally find one.

  6. Odis

    Snigger: Yer man in the checked shirt taking a dive in the video. Was he ever a soccer professional?
    “That was disgraceful. That was assault” – Righto.

    1. Dubloony

      And what’s with the “will be let the car out” bit? Its a garda car with a guy arrested having thrown a traffic cone that knocked out another garda. FFS! really wish these clowns wold bugger off at this stage.

      There’s huge political debate needed about austerity, poverty, how we support social protection and cohesion but this kind of carry on does nothing to progress any of that.

      1. Sam

        He was asked by the Gardai in that instance to address the crowd and ask that. It was conveniently edited out of news footage.

        1. Mister Mister

          I know, god damn RTE editing him into making it appear he was sitting in front of the car in the first place.

      2. Paolo

        That’s the worst thing. By all means, debate the structure of Irish Water, the unit price of water, the dealings of DOB and Siteserv but Water is precious, it costs money to collect, process, deliver and clean. All other developed countries charge for this service. There is no way to ensure that people conserve water unless they pay per unit. The huge increase in the sale of water butts is a perfect example of how the charge immediately impacts behaviour.

  7. newsjustin

    “He returned again within an hour knowing that the protest was there.”

    Why should someone avoid their place of work, residence or leisure just because there are other people there?

    1. Nessy

      Because he could have gone in the Merrion entrance rather than drive through the crowd on a street which was closed off to all other traffic

      1. Clampers Outside!

        But that would interfere with his sense of entitlement and bruise his arrogance. Sure, ya can’t be having that from failed politicians with their heads up their bums.

      2. Rob_G

        Why should he have done that – he’s entitled to use the public highway, same as you and me.

  8. Liam from Lixnaw

    was that Derek getting arrested again? its either bad luck or hes a victim of profiling – “If you see any fat, baldy, jackeens, lock them up”

      1. Liam from Lixnaw

        he will need more notches on the belt when he’s back on the hunger strike – how long did he go for last time? was bad idea to start it on curry day though, in fairness.

        #JeSuisTrèsGros

  9. AlanN

    You have to respect these protesters taking time off work to protest – thats dedication for yuo

    1. JunkFace

      Ha ha ha….yes, they were also taking time off from their busy Jeremy Kyle schedule.

      Ghastly proles!

  10. Clampers Outside!

    Did Alan pull a Godwin?

    …Waaahahahahahahaha !

    Is he gonna write a Nazi themed erotic sex novel in the vein of 50 Shades of Shat.

    Chapter 6: The Suppository
    “….inserted into the deepest darkest diggity lairs of Pyongyang, Agent Shat’s plans to scupper the cryogenicly preserved Nazi army resurrection meant he had to take the blue pill.
    This was to be his climactic moment. Stiffened with determination, he entered deeper into the dark walled tunnel of the enemy. Seeking out sleeping Nazi’s in the dark hole of Pyonyang’s nether ground. He is the man for the job, for he is The Suppository!”

  11. collynomial

    That’s Derek Byrne alright, than man who called the president a midget and subsequently apologised.
    https://www.broadsheet.ie/2015/01/28/midgetgate-man-speaks/

    To re-post what I wrote before after some looking up:

    Note what is returned, is reported by media, whom Mr Byrne claims hold a bias against him (And other protesters) and therefore, some weight should be given to the possibility that those reports are exaggerated or only represent the facts which one would reason, agree with the Media outlets’ view on the world.

    There is also the possibility that I have the wrong Derek Byrne.

    20th September 2014: Mt Justice Patrick McCarthy grants GMC/Sierra and injunction against Derek Byrne and eight other defendants “restraining the defendants, or anyone with knowledge of the court order, from assaulting, harassing, intimidating, endangering or otherwise unlawfully interfering with or obstructing workers lawfully installing meters in Dublin city.”
    http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court-grants-injunction-against-water-protesters-1.1935620

    29th September 2014: Derek Byrne and other members of the Edenmore 9 are victorious in court when a
    “Judge lifted an injunction against them and refused to send them to prison. He also scheduled another hearing which gives them the opportunity to put forward their own video evidence”. [My presumption here is that the 29th ruling overturned the 20th ruling].
    http://www.demotix.com/news/5896052/court-victory-edenmore-nine-water-meter-protestors-dublin#media-5895744

    [the following is related to the thread of events but does not involve Mr.Byrne directly]
    5th November 2014: The high court grants water meter installers a 20m exclusion zone
    http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/court-grants-water-meter-installers-20m-exclusion-zone-1.1989537
    6th November 2014: The high court ammends this decision to state it does not apply to people coming into their homes
    http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/judge-revises-water-charge-protest-exclusion-zone-order-1.1991435

    26th November 2014: Three men are given suspended prison sentences for breach of the above high court order. Derek Byrne is a fourth defendant in the case but is (in his words) ‘freed on a technicality’, he goes on to state that he lives in the area and “will walk through that bloody 20-metre exclusion zone if I chose to”. Based on his words:
    “We’ve openly defied the courts, where we said we will not take an undertaking to take the 20-metre exclusion zone […] All they managed to do was give a suspended sentence.”
    It could be seen that the intention of breaking the exclusion zone was done on purpose so that a test case could be challenged in the courts.

    I can’t find further concrete info, there was thing on a Stoneybatter says no page which said he and Team18 were due in court on 18th December and another post elsewhere saying that Team18’s case had been pushed back to January 16th.

    My guess is that the January 31st case is either the January 16th case or an appeal of its verdict. While I don’t know how legal aid works, I would have thought had his case been on the 16th and then rescheduled Mr Byrne would have that sorted out by now, so I’m possibly wrong there.
    A further speculative guess is another instance where the 20m exclusion zone order is being tested.

    http://www.sundayworld.com/top-stories/crime-desk/courts/dublin-water-protesters-given-suspended-sentences

    Related (but unrelated) article from November 2014 in the financial times in which Mr. Byrne also features:
    http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/969afcc8-6be4-11e4-b1e6-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3Q8mDZyaT

  12. collynomial

    One thing to note: regardless of one’s political beliefs to label someone as ‘scum’ based on their accent implies a shallow pitiful state of intellect on the accusers side. People in Dublin talk like that not only water protesters, but regular Joe Soaps who just want to get on with their lives. Making such a one dimensional attack on someone; to judge them and to presume they are not entitled to protest or feel impinged by authorities because of how they talk or where they grew up is a horrible thing.

    1. Rob_G

      I don’t know that people are labeling them ‘scum’ on the basis of their accents; I think that it is more to do with their actions.

    2. Spaghetti Hoop

      ‘…where they grew up’ is not why they are called scum, it’s HOW they grew up. Fighting on the street and assaulting people is scum behaviour in my book.

  13. Lilly

    I walked past them earlier (mid-afternoon) and hadn’t a clue what they were about. Awful mish-mash of placards, no discernible message. Kudos for protesting but a little focus wouldn’t go amiss.

    1. scottser

      there’s an inherent contradiction in organising an anarcho-syndacalist collective.

  14. Mr. T.

    A member of YFG was in that protest posing as a protester. I know him. His name will be released on Twitter later today.

  15. NB

    I wonder how much some of those protesters spend per day on cigarettes ?
    I’m pretty sure the water charges aren’t anywhere near 10E per day for water.
    You need water , but cigarettes ……..

      1. Rob_G

        Indeed you’re right, it is not, but it is a bit jarring when you see someone puffing on a fag (which are about, what, 50c a pop now?) complaining that they can’t afford €1 per day to cover all of their family’s water and waste-water.

    1. Mr. T.

      Yeah because working class all smoke. All of them. Just as the middle class take cocaine but can’t see the irony.

    1. Jackdaw

      It’s not water its waaher.
      Also you’ll be interested to know that we live in a repubalic not a republic. As for the clown who threw himself into the bus natural selection awaits methinks. I’m astonished nobody demanded an ambulance for the poor misfortune.

  16. Chris

    Classic divide and conquer. The gov throws the ‘successful’ housed and employed beings a slimy meager taste of the current ‘recovery’ and watch how fast they all separate out and turn on lower classes, isolating any protest as criminal. ‘Why aren’t they at work, I have a job so they are obviously wretched scum’ old conservative Ireland alive and well. FG have spun this beautifully and turned you all on each other. They will win next election get used to seeing them.

    1. Mr. T.

      Chris is right. Divide and conquer so anyone with a job and a mortgage thinks they’re part of the upper echelons of society while in reality they are among the lower strata and only a hair’s breadth from those they mock and despise.

      Fine Gael are a hateful bunch of petty snobs who are happy to divide their fellow citizens and undermine social cohesion.

      Tuppence ha’penny looking down on tuppence.

      1. scottser

        it’s not just ‘anyone with a job’ either. when it suits, you’ll find public sector pitted against private sector and vice versa.

    2. Paolo

      Yeah, people who recognise the need for water charges are unable to think for themselves.

  17. Bacchus

    I’d like to see tear gas, tasers and a few baton charges. In any other civilised country these scum would be rounded up and corralled into pens. This is not peaceful or passive, this is not democratic and this is not acceptable.

    1. Mikeyfex

      While that would no doubt be more entertaining, I would say that would mean both sides acted inappropriately. As it was the ‘protesters’ did more damage to themselves than a more heavy handed response would have.

    2. scottser

      ‘ In any other civilised country these scum would be rounded up and corralled into pens’

      um, that doesn’t happen in civilised countries.

  18. Martin C

    It too bad the guy pushed over wasnt knocked out! He fell over like a Brazilian running through on goal. Pay your water charges like a good lad. No Bother.

  19. bobsyerauntie

    A disgraced former Fine Gael justice minister (Alan Shatter) who had to resign under a torrent of sinister allegations calling the ordinary citizens (exercising their democratic right to protest) ‘fascist’ is beyond absurd..

    Fine Gael are the fascists..

    I have to laugh also at some of the blatantly snobby comments by some broadsheet readers..
    god forbid there are people out there who are angry enough to properly vent that anger in a protest outside the parliament… have you not noticed that your country’s sovereignty has been hijacked for several years? and that Ireland is now merely a debt-servicing state on the periphery of the EU? or do you not care as long as poverty, social problems, or social unrest, don’t reach your leafy, sheltered suburb? ..

  20. gary

    Some of the comments on here are absolutely sickening, the facts of the matter are as follows;
    1) The bank so called “bail out” was forced on the people of this country without a referendum.
    2) The political class (FF, FG and Labour) have all lied through their teeth to make us all pay for it.
    3) IW was then set up costing the Irish tax payer even more money that has been utterly wasteful, and with a culture of bonuses and waste encouraged and inherent in it.
    4) Ordinary people up and down the country are having water meters forced on them against their will and are being arrested on a daily basis for daring to resist, and they are also now being forced to be customers of IW.
    5) DOB has had millions of euros of debt written off and is basically running the country and controlling the media with threats of litigation against anyone who speaks out against him, all while being a tax exile.
    6)There has been countless very large protests which the government have almost completely ignored.
    and all of these protests have been very peaceful. In fact we have the most peaceful docile protesters in the world I would guess, (compare what recently happened in Belgium for example) and we are rewarded for this apathy with zero accountability in Dail Eireann and the highest paid politicians in the world.

    Yet you F**Kers on here find fault with the very people who are trying (albeit helplessly it seems ) to do something about it.
    What do you suggest people do to rectify things in this country when the media is completely biased and we have no mechanism to democratically dissolve the Dail?(except waiting for the next election when all our natural resources and everything else is sold off for pittance to FG friends)
    We urgently need participatory democracy so all of this crap can never ever happen again.
    And before you generalise I run my own business and work very hard and can afford to pay for water (again) if chose to but I would rather gouge out my eyes than pay for any more of the corruption in this country.
    I will be attending every protest I can in future so get used to it.

    FG you will lose this

    So shills go do Ireland a favour and feck off

    1. Joe the Lion

      You sound like you’re making an excuse for thuggery. The reality is the majority of people doesn’t support that method – they supported the democratic process for all its obvious faults. Therefore neither you nor the thugs shown here can represent me or any law abiding people even if we can agree on the substance of the points you raise. You and these thugs would do better to get organised

  21. Shea

    Change achieved through proper means will win recognition, violence and thuggish behaviour lessens a cause. The clear thing to me is that despite agreeing that change is needed in our political system, agreeing that the economy was badly run over the last 20 years, feeling anger that Fianna Fail ruined this country and stuck my grandkids with the legacy of their idiocy, and resenting the changes to my lifestyle and income as a result of austerity measures, I will never support those people who take the law into their own hands and behave as those protesters did. We should take inspiration from the heroes of our past, Parnell, O Connell, Connolly etc, and start a political movement to challenge the current system, change the way politicians think and behave, eliminate the waste and excess from public finances, aspire to be better.

    How does throwing a traffic cone at a Garda serve to do anything other than alienate public support for a cause? These “protests” smack of poor planning and organisation, and show a real lack of strong leadership in the groups involved. Every incident like this plays into the hands of the powers that be, strengthens their resolve rather than weakening them, and undermines the stated objectives of the people present.

    1. gary

      Please elucidate us as to what the proper means are? We don’t have any proper means and therein lies the problem. People naturally become very frustrated when they are ignored time and time again, and its amazing in my mind that there has not been a full revolution at this stage, the fault of which will lie completely with the government for governing against the will of the people.
      In a utopian world nobody would raise their voice or use bad language or violence, but Ireland is far from Utopian, there are 500 dead from Austerity as proven by a recent study, and as for those historical figures you mentioned Connelly used a lot more than road cones in 1916 and a lot of the contemporary commentary was the same “how dare they” yet in the fullness of time they have been vindicated. The same goes for the people above. O and I still have not seen any video of a Guard being assaulted? Funny that seeing as almost the entire day was captured on cameras.
      I don’t believe it happened tbh so all the shill commentators here have to give out about now is the “working class accents” and an admirable sit down protest that corrupt Lord Shatter tried deliberately to provoke.

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