Doorstepping Alan

at

90419808 90419809 9041981090419812

Oh.

Last night.

Leinster House , Kildare Street, Dublin 2

An Irish Water protestor attempts an impromptu interview with former Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly with unwelcome consequences.

Sam Boal/Rollingnews

Meanwhile…

90419803

Fair enough.

Sam Boal/Rollingnews

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110 thoughts on “Doorstepping Alan

    1. Wayne.F

      Impeding a citizen going about their private business is unacceptable, impeding an elected representative, on their way to parliament is unacceptable. I dont remember electing that protester, the gardaí are doing there job, the protester is at best being a public nuisance at worst, restricting a fellow citizens right to free movement, and access to their work place.

      1. Nigel

        Well there any number of people we don’t elect who interact with TDs, sometimes in oppositional ways – journalists, lobbyists, petitioners, protestors, activists of all types. We don’t insulate our politicians to the extent that every interaction has to be mediated through democratic mandates. On the other hand nobody really has the right to physically block the path and get in the face of anybody like that.

        I really, really wish these people and more like them were being this hardline about homelessness or health care or government reform or climate change. I get that it’s hard to rally people around a call for higher standards of competence and ethical behaviour in our politicians, and not that the stupidity of the set-up of IW isn’t worth getting angry over, but the water protests increasingly seem committed to going down the rabbit hole of its own narrow focus.

        1. The Key of G

          Great point Nigel. I guess rightly or wrongly the water debacle is seen as a corporate takeover of natural resources by protestors

      2. Dόn 'The Unstoppable Force' Pídgéόní

        This. The cops are going to stop this, they have to. Imagine the outcry if he had smack him or something. I’m not sure these tactics add much to the value of their campaign. It was much smarter when they started getting a wider group of people involved.

      3. pedeyw

        But it’s not really his private business. He’s a public servant. His business is pubic business.

        1. Harry Molloy

          have we a right to interfere with any public servants we see and demand on the spot answers? I’m going to have great craic in the hospital, must charge my camera

      4. panga panga

        get real…..his total objective was to incite the crowd… well it worked…clap clap clap well done Alan… he should be charged with incitement

        1. Wayne.F

          Panga, are you suggestion our politicians should not be able to walk the streets and use the primary entrance to their place of work?

    2. ALisonT

      Seems like a pretty reasonable way of protecting a democratically elected TD against someone who doesn’t believe in people power (ie. democracy)

      1. MoyestWithExcitement

        In fairness, Kelly doesn’t believe in people power either. Why else would get refuse to put through privatisation of water issue to a public vote?

        1. rotide

          Nice attempt at a troll.

          Can you provide any precedence for putting that to a vote?

          No, of course you can’t.

          1. MoyestWithExcitement

            Nice actual trolling there. As the board troll though, you have a responsibility to do better than ‘nice’.

          1. MoyestWithExcitement

            I haven’t said he tried to privatize it but he has opened that door. The Dail could vote tomorrow to privatise it and there’d be nothing we could do save for matching en masse to the Dáil and kicking them out a la Serbia (I think) 10 or 15 years ago or whoever it was.

          2. panga panga

            his brother is Declan Kelly CEO of Teneo Holdings….strong links to Bill Clinton….Denis O’Brien…
            Teneo Holdings is a massive water infrastructure company whose benevolence extends to supplying the pipework and retaining the rights to the water
            You’re not naive enough to believe AK was fastracked into Department of The Environment on his talents and skill are you?
            wake up!!! see the bigger picture

  1. Avon Barksdale

    That gard is having the time of his life there. ‘*….nows your chance to shine Marty. Give em the ol razzle dazzle*’

  2. Markus

    like him or not, a democratically elected TD shouldn’t be impeded from getting to the Dail

  3. Andyourpointiswhatexactly?

    Take a look at the third photo down. Someone spelled agenda as adjenda. I was kind of impressed by that when I saw it on the news last night, I have to say.

      1. rotide

        He’s not mocking the less literate, he’s mocking the terminally stupid.

        If you’re going to go to the dail with a placard, at least take the time to spell check it.

          1. B Hewson

            Only corporate robots use smartphones. These guys use pay phones and to support the working class. (And megaphones to annoy everyone else)

        1. bisted

          ‘…If you’re going to go to the Dáil with a placard…’ there…spell-checked that for you.

          1. rotide

            I would care about people outside the dail reading my message.

            Making an impression on Bisted? Not so much.

        1. Avon Barksdale

          You are required to provide photo evidence of this as soon as the statement is made, the rules are very clear on this

  4. Tish Mahorey

    Garda Siochana, the private army of henchmen to protect the centre right politicians and business interests of the country at the expense of the majority.

    They are given free reign to oppress, bully and engage in criminality as long as they protect their masters in power.

    Ordinary policing seemly doesn’t happen.

    1. ALisonT

      Garda Siochana, the private army of henchmen to protect the centre right politicians – you mean the public police force to protect the democratic majority from the violent minority. We have center right people in power because that is how the people voted.

  5. Murph Mikey

    Take him back to the stations boys…..he needs a to be taught some manners…..oopps….he fell down the stairs!!!

        1. Baz

          as the surging fist swinging mob screamed ‘peaceful protest’ and ‘get your hands off her, she’s a woman’

        2. Boj

          Newsflash, humans have emotions. Kelly the clever monkey knew what he was at. We need smarter politician’s and protestors in this country. It would have been a lot more symbolic if everyone there turned their back when the snake slithered by…but would that have made the news??

          1. rotide

            So humans having emotions are fine in this case but when alan kelly shows emotion at getting elected…. BURN THE WITCH

  6. Markus

    nobody has yet put forward a reason why this guy feels entitled to block a td on-the-go way to the dail.

    1. MoyestWithExcitement

      Seething anger at a scumbag who helps wealthy developers cut costs at the expense of societys standard of living? Stopping him in the street is relatively pointless but if you’re asking why, that’s probably why.

  7. GOS

    Standing in front of someone and shoving a camera in their face is not ‘attempting an interview’ and not a part of the important right to protest.

    Don’t like the man and don’t like his water policies, but Garda was entirely right to just pull the protester out of the way.

  8. scottser

    You can’t expect to wield supreme executive power because some watery tart threw a sword at you..

  9. 15 cents

    i wouldnt bother impeding him id do somethin that would properly mess with his mind, like stick my tongue in his ear. somethin like that would rattle him.

    1. Nigel

      Step 1: Stick tongue in Alan Kelly’s ear.
      Step 2: ????
      Result: Non-corrupt competent government with long-term visions for social and economic development!

    2. classter

      Nothing like low level sexual harrassment to ‘mess with the mind’ of a democratically elected public representative, hold himk to account ,if you will.

      You absolute gobsheen.

  10. DubLoony

    Why are they still picketing him? He’s out of office, Labour out of govt, job done.

      1. DubLoony

        Anger is all well and good when it motivates you to make changes, to improve a situation.

        However, at this stage, not anything Kelly can actually do re water. There isn’t even a ministry of Environment anymore.

        1. MoyestWithExcitement

          OK but anger towards him doesn’t just vanish when he loses his ministry. Anger towards labour wasn’t some political strategy on the part of a rival party. These people are very angry. Alan Kelly is a big reason for their anger. They see him. They react. It’s all well and good talking about what people *should* do but you have to accept human nature, as in what people *actually* do and *will* do.

    1. some old queen

      I assume the protesters were there having a general protest when Kelly arrived. Then this clown just lost the run of himself. He done his cause no favours.

      I have real sympathy for the gaurds during all of this. They were bound to uphold laws which were political in intent when there is probably as many of them as anyone else who not agree with Irish Water.

        1. some old queen

          Well the 20m protest exclusion zone around meter installations was most definitely political in intent and in some cases has set Garda community relations back to the point where they don’t exist. These are the communities which need good relations with the police most of course.

          1. Kieran NYC

            There wouldn’t have had to be exclusion zones without scum like this with the camera impeding people doing their job legally.

          2. MoyestWithExcitement

            “Scum.” A protester puts a camera in Kelly’s face and he’s “scum”. Jesus Christ.

          3. Yeah, Ok

            Moyesty old bean, the gardai are routinely referred to as scum by these people in their hugely edited video ‘evidence’ of garda brutality. I long for the day these ‘scum’ realise they don’t speak for the “people of Ireland” as they’re so insistent on saying. At best they speak for a percentage around the mid teens or low twenties.

  11. TheDude

    Amazed little Alan and some of his pals didn’t have the cop on to ‘defect’ to FG. defect is wrong word given they are two sides of the same backside

    1. MoyestWithExcitement

      Too much competiton in FG. The guy has more or less admitted he’s in this for power as opposed to a desire to change things or help people or a sense of civic duty.

      1. rotide

        Dav only listens to the wireless, checking for missives from Dev on how the war of independance is going

  12. Tish Mahorey

    RTE reporters door step people and challenge them getting out cars, etc.

    Why is this different?

    1. Declan

      They don’t stand in front of you and will walk with you asking questions. This guy appears to be blocking him. I’m no fan of AK47 by the way

    2. classter

      There can be no genuine belief that a state broadcast journalist poses a threat to the safety of a minister.

      (The more disillusioned would say that there is no genuine belief that a RTE journalist poses any sort of threat to a minister in any way, but I digress)

      1. Chris

        The state broadcaster is a toothless old windbag and no threat to anyone in politics unfortunately.

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