From top: demonstrations outside Leinster House last week; Julien Mercille
The water charges movement has changed the political landscape in Ireland.
With little or no help from the unions.
Dr Juien Mercille, in his first words since the beatdown, writes:
The anti-water charges movement is the biggest popular mobilisation this State has seen since its foundation. Together with Sinn Féin and progressive politicians, it is our Podemos and our Syriza.
And just like Syriza is now under attack by the European establishment because it presents an alternative to the troika’s austerity strategy, the Right2Water movement is once again being demonised by our conservative government and media and ignored by some large trade unions that have chosen to side with the Government.
To be clear, the anti-water charges movement is not about calling for free water provision. Everybody recognises that water services have to be paid for – the issue is about how we pay for it.
We already pay for our water through general taxation, which is the right way to do it because it is more progressive than by paying at the point of use through water charges.
If more money and investment are needed to maintain the water provision infrastructure, then we just need to make general taxation more progressive and raise taxes on the better off or increase our low 12.5% corporation tax and close tax loopholes that allow the rich to get away with paying their just part.
Or even better: stop austerity and stimulate the economy to allow it to grow, which will automatically generate more income and tax revenues.
In any case, the government is now pushing two important bills through parliament which, once enacted into law, will reinforce its ability to force people to pay their water charges.
The first is the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. It will make it impossible to sell your house if you haven’t paid your water charges; will force tenants to pay their water bills while landlords will have to provide Irish Water with the identity of their tenants; and it will establish a database that will include much information about Irish Water customers.
In this process, opposition parties have accused the government of bypassing normal parliamentary procedures to allow enough time for debate by pushing through 37 pages of amendments at very short notice. Clearly, democracy is not a priority in the Dáil.
The second is the Civil Debt (Procedures) Bill. It will allow a court to order deductions from social welfare payments or from wages in order to pay for the water charges.
The demonisation of the water movement has also continued in recent days with two main events that happened just as the above legislation was being pushed in parliament.
First, during a protest against water charges and in support of Greece at the Dail, former minister for justice Alan Shatter remained trapped in his car among the protesters for 15 minutes as he tried to drive through them.
So the media brought back the “kidnapping the minister” story that was used when Joan Burton had also been trapped in her car at Jobstown in a similar situation last year.
Shatter said the protesters were “thugs, intolerant, anti-democratic and fascist”. He even criticised the police for letting the situation get out of hand, when it’s clear that the gardai have consistently protected Government interests against anti-water charges protesters since the emergence of the movement.
Second, in another poor public relations performance by those we elected, Fine Gael TD Catherine Byrne (Dublin South-Central) told the Dail during the debate on the Civil Debt Procedures Bill that many people were “stacking up their trolleys with drink and wine” at the grocery store while they allegedly refused to pay their water charges.
The image was clear: those annoying people on welfare just use the money given to them generously by the State to pay for booze but are still too selfish to pay for water, because they “believe everything should be free”.
The Government strategy is thus obvious.
First, implement austerity that throws the economy in recession and forces people to emigrate in the face of skyrocketing unemployment.
Then, just blame all that on “the poor” and make all sorts of wild claims about them. It must be them, after all, who created an out-of-control banking system, inflated a housing bubble, decided on a bank guarantee, took taxpayers’ money to pay for bondholders in Germany and Britain, and had the brilliant idea of implementing austerity to depress the economy further.
But the attacks on water charges protesters are not only coming from Fine Gael and Labour.
They also originate from some trade unions that have remained quite apathetic toward the movement. Indeed, Right2Water includes only five trade unions, the two biggest ones of which are Unite and Mandate. Why are the others not joining this historical movement?
For example, ICTU (the umbrella group for Irish trade unions) and the unions SIPTU and IMPACT haven’t been very proactive to say the least. Perhaps their mindset is best illustrated by David Begg, who was general secretary of ICTU from 2001 to 2015.
A few months ago, I asked him about the anti-water charges protesters and why the trade union leadership did not support them more strongly.
Hold your breath.
David Begg described the protesters who do more than just marching as “the dark forces in Irish society”… and added that we had to guard against such excesses because “once the toothpaste is out of the tube, you can’t put it back in”. That’s from a trade union leader who is supposed to defend the interests of ordinary people.
And then we wonder why there’s a Syriza government in Greece, a rising Podemos in Spain, but an Enda Kenny in power in Ireland.
The real dark forces in Irish society need to be kicked out of power at the next general election. For this, people will need to get to the streets, and progressive politicians will need, for once, to unite, and to do so now.
@JulienMercille is lecturer at UCD and the author of The Political Economy and Media Coverage of the European Economic Crisis: The Case of Ireland (2015, Routledge) and a member of the Greek Solidarity Committee. His new book, Europe’s Treasure Ireland, is published this month.
(Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland)
“or raise our low 12.5% corporation tax”
Well you were fun while you lasted Julien. Too much time hanging out with the SF buddies apparently.
He showed his true colours in the first paragraph – “Together with Sinn Féin and progressive politicians”
Didn’t the Shinners flip flop on water protest until it became popular? And aren’t they flip flopping on their support for Syriza?
You’re right – SF support water charges in N. Ireland. They are willing to promise the sun, moon and stars down here as they know that won’t get into govt this time around, and so won’t have to follow through with any of it.
Maybe that’s because of the ownership structure of the company in Northern Ireland vs here?
What has ownership structure got to do with water charges? They are either against the charges or they are not. If they are against the ownership structure then they would by protesting that and paying the charges.
The fact is, Sinn Fein is a bunch of uneducated, populist dirt birds and Julien is a fantasist with zero qualifications.
It’s owned by the state. Like the ESB, should we stop paying for that now?
It was SF in NI that changed the ownership structure in NI’s water supply in order to ready it for privatisation…
Not the best source I admit and a little old, but.. “Northern Ireland Rail, Ulsterbus, NI Water, Donaghadee harbour, forests, office buildings, etc, are all to be sold off to rich speculators. 80,000 houses owned by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (established as a result of demands from the Civil Rights Movement to counteract discrimination in social housing allocation) are to be sold off, with private landlords licking their chops at the prospect of expanding their property portfolios.” http://www.politics.ie/forum/sinn-fein/233713-sinn-fein-embark-programme-job-cuts-privatisation-public-services.html
It was SF who helped push to get households in NI ready for water metering. Add to that the following:
Sell of Public Assets
Key public assets have been earmarked for privatisation to cut back on public spending including:
Proposed sell off of Belfast Harbour
Proposed privatisation of Translink
Proposal to privatise the Waterfront Hall
NI Water earmarked for privatisation. With millions spent making pipes ‘meter ready’ politicians are planning for water charges to be brought in the back door
From: http://www.peoplebeforeprofit.ie/node/1134
Fupp SF and their spin and bullshit… and paedophile protection
Well said, Clampers.
How does Catherine byrne know whos who in the supermarket with their trolley full of booze, What does she mean by the government being generous giving the people money? does she realise that its our own money that we paid in taxes down through the years, Does she realise its tax payers money thats paying her fat salary, She should be seen & not heard, Great way of getting votes Lol Lol, What a complete Idiot
UK has announced plan to reduce Corp tax rate to 18%. How will we compete if we raise our rate? ( note to Julien to account for strength in pound against the euro).
Julian or Jane Tuohy , whatever her name, was on the mark with her “piece”, the language reflecting the himbo analysis of the self appointed media guru.
Raise it 1 or 2%…. still competitive. Or… get the multi-nationals to actually pay the full 12.5%.
By all means enforce payment, that’s whats meant to happen after all.
I don’t see why it should be an ‘or’ situation. We shouldn’t have to raise the existing rate at all. It’s one fo the only things keeping us out of the gutter.
Paying through general taxation is more progressive than taxing it at source and by use?
I notice the increased popularity of the term “progressive”…I believe it means higher taxes on people who earn more money. Is this good? Is this bad? Doesn’t matter…just call it “progressive”..then you can say..
“We already pay for our water through general taxation, which is the right way to do it because it is more progressive”
..and you can justify something without having to go into any detail. Handy word!
Well maybe you’re only noticing the term due to your perception of the increased popularity of the term, but the concept progressive and regressive taxation has been around since the eighteenth century.
I didn’t say I noticed the term I said I noticed the ‘increased popularity of the term’..and yes it would be my perception of the increased popularity of the term..what I notice generally tends to be a result of my perception.
Yes, “progressive” is just not something than can be argued with apparently. Maybe someday we won’t have to pay directly for anything by this argument. Well, not quite, everything would be deducted at source from everyone’s pay. Well, not quite, it would be deducted from those who have pay from working. Everyone else can just get everything for free. What a great society…
Not if you want to conserve water. Water will not be conserved if it is not charged based on usage. A very simple way of demonstrating that is the massive increase in shops selling water butts.
If there were an easy way to link the price of a unit of water to the earnings of a household then that would be progressive in every sense but allowing less well off people to waste water for free while someone earning slightly more (on paper) pays for them is most certainly NOT progressive.
“The anti-water charges movement is the biggest popular mobilisation this State has seen since its foundation.
– is it really though?
I’m not surprised that the unions haven’t been protesting the water charges; if water charges were to be paid through general taxation, presumably the taxes paid by their members would go up, too .
But it will be “progressive”. They could even call it something like “The water services levy” or is calling it something regressive rather than progressive. I’m confused.
If I can’t see exactly how much its costing me personally then it must be progressive right? Am I using the term correctly?
Right2water is backed by the unions? Or am I wrong?
Brendan Ogle (sp?) is all over it like a rash. I think he’s waiting to see which way the winds are blowing before he decides to run for the Dail.
I am just curious why the flag of Cote D’Ivoire is sewn to the Greek flag. Hidden subtext I an missing?
I’m on the record as been no fan of Paul Murphy and his fellow Vanguard members but credit where credit is due, Sinn Fein had jack shit to do with the Water Protestors until they were outflanked by Paul Murphy in the by-election.
To say that Sinn Fein has been part of it plus “progressive polictians” is to downplay their role by not properly acknowledging them. It’s a bit shoddy.
Hear, hear !
Sinn Fein were very late to the debate and are just bandwagoning the IW prostests since losing that seat. The privatisation measures in the North that they have implemented are proof of that.
Plain as the sky it is !
These pieces are just cringe.
A bit like your prose, like soooo cringe.
That’s sooo true!
…the unions were bought by Bertie and stay bought.
through general taxation is wrong – I could just turn on a tap and let it piss down my sink and no consequences. it’s this kind of attitude in regard to the environment that is so below beloved of the Petro-chemical industry and the Australian government.
+100
Absolutely. This is probably the biggest blunder of the Irish Water debacle, and it hasn’t been addressed at all. The whole point of the charges was to reduce waste, now if I have three swimming pools in my house I pay the same flat charge as an old lady in a 1-bed flat. It’s brain-bashingly stupid.
As demanded by IW protesters.
A demand that the government accepted, knowing that it suited them better than it did the poorer protesters.
Or fund it like a public utility company like ESB.
By investing tax payers money initially, charging for it based on use and by allowing the public utility to raise money on the open market instead of raising taxes.
That allowed everyone in the country to have access to electricity. That improved the lives of everyone in the country, at home, in work to the point where we can’t think what life was like before it.
Oh wait, that’s exactly what they did with Irish water.
Not exactly.
First, the government placed a series of croneys, many fools who once worked at now state-owned banks, and others from local government, into top positions in a company controlling water, an area that they had no experience in. That didn’t happen with ESB, where they put qualified engineers into the jobs instead.
On top of that, the system for charges were premature, asking for metered payments before meters were in place.
If it turns out that the deal Tsipiras just negotiated brings down the Syriza government, will Julien still be stroking himself at the mention of them?
AAA here are calling for the Greeks to reject the deal. I don’t get why people put ideology over and above the very real suffering already happening in Greece.
The ideology of say, Syriza?
It’s because the left, in general, are too immature to understand compromise. Which is why they are so fragmented and will never form an opposition.
They all want to be able to say they’re 100% right, regardless of the consequences.
Some truth in that
best to ask Ms Tuohy
Ah the young Fine Gaelers at the keyboards again.
You keep making these accusations but you never ever back them up.
How much are the AAA paying you?
And I’m not young
Mr. Troll’s comments are predominantly based on two premises: anti middle class prejudice; lazy anti Fine Gael/ government rhetoric – that is all.
+ an unhealthy dose paranoia.
Andrea and Caroline must have been awful b****es to him growing up.
I can visualise him sitting in his padded bunker with ‘Runaway’ blaring from his Walkman while feeling secure in the knowledge that the dental floss he used as trip wire, will alert him to the presence of any middle class Fine Gael canvassers who went to boarding school, and keep him safe, like his tinfoil hat, from the unadulterated madness and dangers posed by the outside world.
“The real dark forces in Irish society need to be kicked out of power at the next general election. ”
so as to allow Sinn Fein, the darkest of all forces in …
I wonder if Julien knows about the crimes of which Sinn Fein is guilty. Bless his naïveté.
For his own sake let’s hope it is naivety, because the alternative doesn’t bear thinking about.
Paolo, Julia/Jane says it best
“Almost whimsically and perhaps in closet guilt at the apparent libertarianism of its no doubt mostly junior advertising exec readership (it promotes, nay ogles, Julien Mercille, conspiracy theorist extraordinaire, Maître Mitty on a Monday. Worse still – and alien to the “get that state out of my life readership, this is a leftie. “Beef cake”, ” boffin”, “egghead”, “the man they all want to marry”: all bouffant hair and sallow skin, his clean-cut just-bathed Canadian earnestness, an embodiment of dissent for Broadsheet’s hirsute, lycra-clad, hashtag revolutionaries. Julienne, You tease us with your threat of taser-flashing Gardaí; whip us into a frenzy with your regurgitation of pertinent surveys, poke us with your boring quotes from the eminent King and Thoreau. I applaud your refusal to succumb to what you describe as the media’s “propaganda of silence”, as you buzz around, flogging your book on every show in town. May I be so bold as to suggest you partake in the donning of a trench coat, a suitable accoutrement, a worthy homage to your mots”
“Together with Sinn Féin…..”
Sinn Féin bandwaggoned the protests after losing a seat to Paul Murphy. They were not on board from the start, they followed popular opinion when they saw they’d lose seats not supporting it.
SF would drop IW protests like a hot snot if it didn’t pose a threat to any of their other seats. It’s how they roll… with out direction, and chasing popular votes, they’re not LEADING anything…. ffs
Is Sinn Féin, via Mercille, a sponsor at Broadsheet? If so, BS should state that somewhere.
And are Broadsheet really not going to address their reader’s disgust at this type of nonsense? If so, this site will lose relevance quickly.
This is either Joe-Duffy-style stuff, designed to aggravate a collection of readers who wouldn’t vote for Sinn Féin for all the farms in Cuba, or it is a clear sign of political motivation in BS, which would be very sad. If I want the ravings of SF propaganda I’ll go to the Journal, thank you very much. In the meantime I will continue to recognise that our state is in disarray now, but would be buried under the corruption and ineptitude of SF, and I won’t be reading any more of this ranting nonsense from Dr. Mercille.
BS use Mercille as bait, Mercille the deluded, arrogant person licks back, BS commenters meanwhile bite. Mercille uses the Shinners to promote well “himself”, his skin crawling at the “how are ya ” hanger-ons, his ears burning from the “yes Dr, no Dr, tree bags full Dr” .
“To be clear, the anti-water charges movement is not about calling for free water provision. Everybody recognises that water services have to be paid for – the issue is about how we pay for it.”
I’m sorry this is wrong. There are plenty of people who believe water is a human right and they should not have to pay for it at all. This is a demonstrable fact.
A Foreign visitor to Ireland thinks: Goodness me look at that, an elderly lady in a wheelchair and the all those guards behind her just in case she attempts to jump the fence and attempts to bash Enda Kenny over the head with her hand bag!
Perhaps the Irish government needs to stop thinking it can change the mindset of it’s own people and stop wasting money on protecting politicians from this elderly lady who is strapped into her wheelchair. If Mr.Kenny doesn’t want a bash over the head from her handbag, then perhaps he should engage in conversation with her.
Margaret Thatcher also thought she could change the mindset of people “the community charge will be very popular” she once said. But the point is, even though the the ‘poll tax’ was a fairer way to collect taxes, it was imposed upon the people with an assumption that their mindset could be forcibly changed.
You can bully people only so far Mr. Kenny……