A previous anti-water tax protest in Letterkenny.
The Right2Water recent planning meeting regarding the protest on January 23rd was well represented by anti water charge groups in the County last Wednesday.
Along with members from Donegal Water Warriors, Inishowen Against Water Charges and Donegal Right2Water, delegates from Sinn Fein, the IRSP and Buncrana Together were also in attendance.
The Can’t Pay Won’t Pay and Donegal Says No groups sent their apologies but pledged their support for the protest which is garnering much interest from the public.
Right2Water Donegal are heartened by the attendance of so many different groups in a show of solidarity on the issue of water charges and has reiterated that this shows the enormous opposition that still exists to water charges.
Spokesperson Owen Curran said “Enda Kenny was right when he said this is about so much more than water.This has been the issue that has led to so called ordinary people joining the political dots.The debacle that has been Irish Water and water charges has acted as a political education for many , an example of that will be seen at the protest on Saturday when those in attendance will be addressed by local campaigners , with politicians only on the platform to show solidarity.”
Chairperson Charlie Mc Dyer seconds this opinion saying “we see parties now saying they are in opposition to water charges and yet, when we started this campaign and asked politicians to support us, some parties ignored us and clearly stated they were in favour of paying for water. Some of them are now saying they are against water charges – which is another indicator of the effectiveness of the water charges movement. The austerity which was forced upon the most vulnerable in society to pay for the reckless gambling of the bankers (none of whom has been held accountable for financially crippling Ireland) shows no sign of abating. The wealthiest have seen their fortunes actually increase whilst the poorest in society are being hammered with cuts and added taxes.
With water charges set to be a major election issue in the upcoming General Election there have also been calls for the issue of homelessness to be addressed, among other issues.
Secretary Phillip Mc Fadden said the Government has its head in the sand in relation to this issue.
“This Government actually voted for the eviction bill which enables Banks to throw people out of their homes – throughout the Country Banks are evicting people every week – the very Banks we were forced into bailing out. Homelessness is at crisis point but the Government sits on its hands. There are numerous issues affecting people like the health crisis, education, housing and employment – to name a few and the public is growing restless, frustrated by the empty promises we are all so used to hearing. No doubt these issues will also be raised on the day of the protest – it truly has gone beyond the single issue of water charges alone”.
The protest will be assembling at Mr. Chippy on Saturday 23rd January at 2pm.
Tags: