Irish Water Tax Rebellion Marches on as Thirty Thousand Take to Streets

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Common Dreams

Irish Water Tax Rebellion Marches on as Thirty Thousand Take to Streets
Published on Saturday, January 31, 2015
by Common Dreams



The center of Dublin has reportedly shut down as demonstrators, joining a chorus of nation-wide protests on Saturday, came out in droves to fight government efforts to tax citizens' right to water.

An estimated 30,000 marched in Dublin while other protests were held in cities and towns across the country including Limerick, Waterford and Donegal. According to The Irish Times, the rallies have caused major traffic disruption and road closures in Dublin, with groups marching from separate train stations and converging outside the General Post Office where speakers addressed the massive crowd.

The demonstrations, organized by local grassroots groups, are protesting threats to privatize Ireland's water bureau, Irish Water, and its plan to charge residents some €160 per year in an effort to satisfy EU-IMF demands. The latest round of protests come as roughly 660,000 households failed to meet a Monday deadline to register for water billing, Irish Water confirmed to media.

Richard Boyd Barrett, a representative with the political party People Before Profit Alliance, told reporters that government concessions made in response to the ongoing demonstrations will not appease protesters. In November, Irish Water announced certain households will have lower flat rates for water consumption.


Read more: http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/01/31/irish-water-tax-rebellion-marches-thirty-thousand-take-streets

[Divernan]

1. My fave sign: "You'd sell your feckin mother!"

The Irish have learned the effectiveness of massive public protest. I was in Dublin for 10 days some years back when the country erupted over a supreme court decision which forced the release of a convicted child rapist on a technicality. Thousands gathered and marched daily on Leinster House, which is the Irish National Parliament Building in Dublin. They took off work on weekdays to protest and block the streets around the capitol. All the newspapers supported the protest and called for the firing of various cabinet ministers. There were similar protests across the country as well. These were spontaneous actions - the Irish didn't wait for any organized groups to call for demonstrations. They just hit the streets. When's the last time hundreds or thousands of people marched and gathered outside your senator's or congressman's LOCAL offices? Imagine that simultaneously occurring across the US. The militarization of our local and state police forces is in anticipation of just such an eventuality, but I doubt such protests will ever occur. Americans are such sheep - just give them their televised sports and reality shows and they continue to ignore political reality or even bother to vote.

The Irish politicians were so frightened that within days they called an emergency session of their Parliament to pass a law to remove said technicality. The protests continued until both houses of the Parliament actually met and PASSED legislation. The Irish weren't bought off by any bullshit promises of future action. Immediacy was demanded by the electorate and the politicians responded with same.

This current protest is over privatization of public water. This would be comparable to if American citizens had gone to the streets to protest the Supreme Court's 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which basically privatized our electoral process, or the crippling of the US Postal Service (an obvious attempt to force privatization) which occurred when the USPS was forced to prepay retiree benefits DECADES in advance.

In 2006 our bribed Congress "noticed" (had pointed out to them by campaign contributors) that there were a few "problems" with the USPS. So "our" Congress wrote and passed the Postal Accountability and "Enhancement" Act (PAEA).

This law is very similar in type to Shrubs' (Bush Jr.) law "reforming" Medicare which BANNED Medicare from doing what EVERY OTHER nation and corporation does: CONTROL COSTS by NEGOTIATING for the best possible price with suppliers. Specifically this law barred Medicare from negotiating price with Drug Manufacturers, Implantable Equipment, and Durable Equipment Manufacturers (wheelchairs etc.)

USPS Overcharged for the CSRS Pension Fund by $75 Billion

A study just released by the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) shows that the current system of funding the Postal Service’s Civil Service Retirement System pension responsibility is inequitable and has resulted in the Postal Service overpaying $75 billion to the pension fund. The OIG estimates that if the overcharge was used to prepay the Postal Service’s health benefits fund, it would fully meet all of the Postal Service’s accrued retiree health care liabilities and eliminate the need for the required annual payments of more than $5 billion. Also, the health benefits fund could immediately start meeting its intended purpose — paying the annual payment for current retirees, which was $2 billion in 2009.

This marks the third time the Postal Service has been overcharged. In 2002 it was determined the Postal Service would overfund CSRS by $78 billion. Legislation in 2003 corrected this overfunding. Then it was determined the Postal Service was overcharged $27 billion for CSRS military service credits. In 2006 these funds were returned to the Postal Service by Congress, and the surplus was used to fund retiree health care liabilities.

This study, The Postal Service’s Share of CSRS Pension Responsibility, undertaken in conjunction with the Hay Group, is the third paper sponsored by the OIG that delves into the financial entanglements between the Postal Service and the federal government — generally at the expense of the Postal Service. The latest study describes the inequitable allocation of CSRS costs between the federal government and the Postal Service. The other two reports focus on the Postal Service’s congressionally-mandated retiree health care prefunding payments (Estimates of Postal Service Liability for Retiree Health Care Benefits), and the Postal Service’s interaction with the federal budget (Federal Budget Treatment of the Postal Service).

http://postalemployeenetwork.com/news/2010/03/usps-overcharged-for-the-csrs-pension-fund-by-75-billion/

[Peace Patriot]

2. Thanks for the lowdown on the USPS!

I knew the general outlines but not all these details.

The far Right has also privatized our vote counting system. I highly recommended this interview of Jonathan Simon, on Pat Thurston's talk show on KGO in San Francisco tonight. He explains just how they've done it and why. Riveting!

http://www.stationcaster.com/player_skinned.php?s=861&c=5401&f=3937863

[sendero]

3. Make no mistake...

... this is what the IMF-originated "austerity" programs in Greece, Ireland, Spain, Italy and Portugal are all about - ASSET STRIPPING.

What a fine asset, control of a country's water supply. Image the profit potential. It's staggering.

[bpj62]

4. The next Greece

The Irish have been hit hard by austerity programs forced on them by the EU. The Irish people worked hard in the 90s and early 2000s to grow the economy and were hit very hard by the crash. They have had it with a government that helped hide the abuses by the Catholic Church and they are tired if the austerity programs being pushed on them by the EU. Greece was the spark but Italy, Spain and Ireland may be the fire that forces the change in the way the EU bankers do things.

[Johnny Rash]

5. TAXES will ruin your day, on any day!

I don't mind TAXES when they go toward our Collective Interest; But I sure mind it when TAXES find their ways on a "One Way" trip to the TOP to stay there forever.

The other thing which hangers me the most is having to fight Politicians on a Global Corporation's PAYROLL!

They never play FAIR, at all!

[CountAllVotes]

6. No Way, We Won't Pay!!!!

send in the military ...





& recommend!!

[PosterChild]

7. Then again, I keep hearing that water...

... is a precious resource, and needs to be conserved. What is the incentive to conserve if there isn't a consuption / usage fee?

In my case I pay about $1,000 per year for water - including some special fees related to local water treatment issues. No where near a piddly €160.

I admit to being a high end water user - if I wanted to pay less, I could easily use less.

[mrmpa]

8. You don't get it...........

this is a tax on water consumption. This plays into the hand of the CEO of Nestlé's who has never veered from him statements that people do not have a right to water.

Yes, you as well as I do pay for water but this is for the purification and delivery of it to my home by my municipality. I do not pay a tax on that, and I will go to the streets here in the US, if this occurs here.