Campaigners claim 80,000 protest water charges in Dublin

Thousands of people have turned out in Dublin city centre to protest against water charges.

Campaigners claim 80,000 protest water charges in Dublin

Thousands of people have turned out in Dublin city centre to protest against water charges.

The Right2Water campaign has claimed that more than 80,000 people converged on Dublin today.

The trade unions affiliated to the campaign - the CPSU, CWU, Mandate, Opatsi and Unite - are also calling for a referendum to be held "following abolition of the charges" to enshrine public ownership of Irish Water in the Constitution.

CWU General Secretary Steve Fitzpatrick announced the wording for a new Article 28 section 4:2:1 to read: "The Government shall be collectively responsible for the protection, management and maintenance of the public water system. The Government shall ensure in the public interest that this resource remains in public ownership and management."

The trade unions will present the outline of their draft water management policy at their forthcoming May Day Conference.

Three separate groups assembled at Merrion Square and at Heuston and Connolly stations this afternoon, before converging on O'Connell Street for a rally.

Speaking at the rally in Dublin today Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan said that the campaign will not stop until water charges are scrapped and Irish Water is abolished.

The Dublin MEP said: “This Government believes that the anti-water charges campaign is dying. That we are on our last legs. Well today we have sent them a message. This campaign is going from strength to strength. We are on the march. And we will not stop until water charges are scrapped and Irish Water is abolished.

“Sinn Féin warned the Government that Irish Water was nothing more than a toxic quango.

“The citizens of Ireland in their hundreds of thousands told Alan Kelly that they cannot and they will not pay.

“Europe has warned the Government that their back of the envelope calculations do not stack up.

“How do they respond?

“By jailing protestors and spending €650,000 on a new ad campaign; not to mention wasting over €85m on private consultants, €539m wasted on water meters. Hundreds of Garda hours wasted on policing the ill-fated installation of water meters."

Ms Boylan questioned how people could pay the charge when they "cannot afford to keep the roof over their head"

She said: “These families simply cannot take anymore. The Government is pushing people over the edge.

“The lengths that this Government will go, to defend their precious Uisce Éireann is astounding.

“Local Authorities have begun the process of handing over the details of tenants. Landlords are being forced to do the same.

“For Sinn Féin this is a red line issue. Let this message go out loud and clear. Water Charges and Irish Water must be consigned to the dustbin of history.”

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