Water We Want?

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Scenes from today’s anti-Irish Water protest in Dublin including the first glimpse at the recently released ‘Joan Phone’.

UPDATE: Organisers say 100,000 attendees, Gardai say 30,000.

Thousands Protest against water charges in Dublin (RTE News)

(Thanks MyDestinationDublin and Buzz O’Neill and Fluffy Biscuits)

(Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland)

 

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60 thoughts on “Water We Want?

  1. Soundings

    She’s missing the camera on that phone (match box with tracing paper on one side of the interior and a pin-hole on the other side – VGA resolution – very grainy appearance)

  2. Dudey

    Joan Burton, so out of touch with the Irish electorate. I’m checking out this post on my gold plated diamond encrusted lappy. I-phones are for dorks and poseurs

  3. The bringer of facts

    Clowns.

    I have no problem paying for first world facilities.

    And I don’t care if my tax has already paid for them.

    I am still drinking clean, fresh, unpoopified goodness from a magic metal pipe in my fridge room.

    Now.

    Where can I get the same deal with fibre broadband, another essential first world facility.

    Thanks.

    1. MC

      I think the idea is that enough is enough. The Irish people have taken on more than their fair share of austerity and private banking debt and the water issue appears to be the final straw.

      1. Jock

        You can’t say enough is enough as if the financial gods can be appealed to. We have debts and current borrowings that cannot be ignored.

    2. lorcan nagle

      I’m guessing you just weren’t paying attention to those marches. I was on quite a few protesting austerity, NAMA and the like in recent years.

  4. shitferbrains

    Does ” we’ve paid for it in our taxes ” apply world-wide, or is it an Irish phenomenon ?

    1. Dudey

      Lol no. I think you will find it first comes from the time when Margaret Thatcher, started selling off the British Nationalised Industries to her rich mates at knock down prices.

      The proles thought they should have some sort of claim on these tax payer funded assets. Maggie put them right though the selfish entitled bitches.

  5. Paul Davis

    The thoughts of having 100k freeloaders within 500m of my house really has put me off my supper.

    They should have these marches in the area where these people are from.

    We do not need to be inconvenienced due to their ignorance.

    1. Praetorian

      If they where that close you really should’ve gone out to tell them to their faces to march elsewhere.

      1. Jim Computer

        Better still, Mr. Davis…
        Get a few of your mates together and I’ll show you a good place for yiz to have an anti-protest march protest march.

        C’mon, it’ll be great craic.

    2. John Cassidy

      Freeloaders you say? How do you come to that conclusion? They have being paying for water for years through income tax. If you really thought your water was free you’re delusional.
      Now you will be paying for it on the double. I suppose you’re happy with that.

  6. Jam

    Joan burtons comment about the phones was clumsy. But there is a problem in this country in that people expect a comfortable cushy existence without having to deploy any effort or ability.

    1. TheDude

      So right Jam. I am tired of paying 52% tax with nothing to show for it. Could we please up it a bit more. I’m wearing the green jersey, are you? Would you like to know more?

      1. Jam

        I was referring to the phones comment. There needs to be a balance between looking after those with less opportunities and or abilities and rewarding hard work and ability. Society needs to be competitive. We are currently leaning too far to the left. We have the most generous social welfare in the world allowing for wealth. An uncomfortable truth.

        1. Bobby

          ‘Society needs to be competitive’

          I genuinely believe this comment is derived from a little bit of successful manipulation and a little bit of lunacy. I’m very sorry for the commentator. If they really believes this, I think their mind is intoxicated beyond belief, I don’t know how you deal with life and existence on a day to day basis.. Then I I feel sorry for everyone else who gets poisoned by the outdated and dividing notion that we should all embrace competition (and people actually invest these ideas in little children, and so theunhinging of humanitygoes on). .

          Competition is at the epicentre of our problems, and Ireland is in an exemplary condition of competitiveness. It would be a good mental health stimulant to learn something, anything, from these peeps – http://upsidedownworld.org/main/mexico-archives-79/3305-the-assault-on-autonomous-education-in-southeast-mexico

          God help us all.

          1. offMooof

            +100,000

            Someone needs to articulate an alternative to 12.5% one with more confidence and respect for the abilities of Irish people other than to be a plaything for multinationals. Jobs netted with 12.5% and a broken workforce maybe aren’t jobs worth having. Providing clean water for business was one of Joan Burtons arguments for privatising our water supply just before her phone comment not conservation or a clean dependable supply for the population. Its starting to seem as though this countries purpose for existing is to provide a disposable workforce and a climate that makes exploitation kinda O.K.

          2. will-billy

            i am no apologist for corporate welfare but think you are being a bit harsh. governments today are tasked with the creation and maintenance of civil society in which investment and job creation must take place. that is the expectation of the majority of the electorate. what alternative policy proposals do you propose?

  7. cochabamba

    Irish Water spin doctors and FG party shills out in force here today with their silly astroturfing!!
    Kudos to all the near 100,000 protesters that turned up today (not 30k as garda / RTE are saying)

    1. Happy Molloy

      ffs, can you not just accept the possibility that people disagree with you without it being a conspiracy, seriously dude go sort your life out :-)

        1. Jam

          I happen to be abroad, working. Deploying effort and ability. Those who deploy neither should be looked after but no more. But the expectation is holiday, car, fags, booze. we are out of synch with The entire western world bar scandiwegia but they are not broke. That’s what burton would have said if she could.

  8. Fig leaf

    I can’t believe the anti protest posts on here. When you go out for dinner and you pay for your meal, when the restaurant asks takes your payment and asks you would you mind paying for your meal again, do you roll over and say ‘oh ok, I live in a country where I get clean water out of a tap, here let me pay you again’.
    We already pay for water through taxes, why on earth is there opposition to the fact that we don’t want to (and are not going to) pay an already paid bill.

    1. Chucky R. Law

      Let me attempt for once to be serious and try to summarise:
      1. I think you’ll find that most people in fact think that water metering is a good idea, and that the infrastructure needs investment and a central agency makes sense. But that majority don’t have the time or inclination to make noise about it.
      2. There is a feeling that the “we’ve paid for it already in our taxes” brigade (and those that obstruct contractors) don’t actually pay much in the way of taxes. In your restaurant analogy, your community has been funding your restaurant and you’ve never actually directly paid for the food that you consume, and now you are being asked to.
      3. The clowns that are obstructing contractors are achieving nothing. Even if they were successful they will still get billed for water, but will instead get a flat bill and have denied themselves the opportunity to save money by conserving water consumption. And, as Joan rather clumsily observed, some appear to have nice mobile phones to record their antics that cost way more than they will ever pay for water.
      4. Most people understand that setting up Irish Water will involve significant set-up costs to invest in the necessary systems for a utility.

      On the other hand, Irish Water appears to already be showing evidence of becoming a wasteful gravy train, and that is one thing worth being concerned about.

      1. Bobby

        Jeez.. thanks Jaysus there’s people like you who can tell us what ‘most people understand’, and what ‘most people in fact think’. You must be reading the papers everyday to have such a wonderful in deptp-knowledge of the people on this island.

        Most people thought voting FG is a good idea, worse again, most people actually believe voting is useful! So there you have it, even though – it seems to me, but I don’t ave the authority to tell you all what everyone is thinking, unlike Chucky – that most people have no idea what is good for them, and they make collectively idotic decisions every couple of years (probably every day), but no.. I’m just cynical.. or am I, what am I’m thinking Chucky!!

      2. Niamh

        Chucky – you do realise this is a stealth tax to help the government pay off the banking debt, right? And in no way reflects the actual cost/requirement for water infrastructure? And that all those other stealth taxes – universal social charge, property tax – were also stealth taxes that would not be required had the government not made baking debt sovereign debt a few years back?

        The government can pay for a water supply using your taxes – the government can pretty much pay for everything using your taxes. What it cannot pay is the massive sovereign debt. Therefore it dreams up stealth taxes to put towards this debt, waits for NAMA properties to be valuable enough to sell and allows them to remain empty and derelict until such time as they can be sold at a high price, and cuts budgets for welfare and services whilst hiring spin doctors to help them to persuade the populace that those in need of help in a depressed economy are ‘freeloaders’.

    2. Soundings

      Let me try even harder to summarise
      If, before you enter the restaurant, you pay for the meal in advance and then at the end of the meal, you were presented with another bill for the same meal, you’d tell the restaurant to feck off.

      99.9% of the population (okay, the piss drinkers in Roscommon excluded) had a perfectly okay water and sewage service prior to the creation of Irish water and we paid for it through general taxation. Enda Kenny loves to wallow in the problems people have with the existing system, but truth be told, the vast majority have no problem.

      Now, we’re being asked to pay for it again and we’re telling the restaurant to feck off.

      1. Banotti

        Ok so we’ve now started charging for water. To compensate the government has reduced taxes that were paying for water. As they are running a deficit they have had to raise general taxation.

        What is your argument now?

        1. Soundings

          “It all happened in one go so it balanced out in the end.”

          Now that’s a headscratcher of the calibre you might expect from Blondie Goebbels that Irish Water wheel out to do their PR.

          I pay for water from my general taxation, I am happy with the water service, I am now being asked for an additional payment. I don’t want to pay twice, and I particularly don’t want to pay for a bonus-rich, incompetent (to quote the minister responsible) consultant-abundant, professional fees-gravytrain that is Irish Water.

    3. My Daddy is bigger than Yours

      No.
      If I have a well I have to pay out of my pocket but I don’t get any refund on my income tax. Therefore you cannot say people on the mains already pay.
      Besides, if you are not resident in Ireland but have a holiday home you don’t pay anything.
      If you’re a retired millionaire you don’t pay – you still get your old age pension…

  9. JD

    Oh, how bravely spoken, from behind a comment board !!!!!!!!! I bet you wouldn’t be so quick to shoot your mouth off in front of real people like those of us who marched yesterday. We pay enough taxes on everything in this country so why should we accept another ??

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