Workers Solidarity Movement

On the 18th of February, 13 families who were being housed in an emergency accommodation facility on 54-55 Mountjoy street were handed an eviction notice, ending their tenancy in just 8 days time.

The stated reason for the eviction was an increase in the property’s rent, which DCC claim they will be unable to supply. As the residents are in emergency accommodation, they do not receive protection under the tenants’ rights law.

On Kildare street this week, two climate activists have been helping inject a taste of sober reality into a week filled with faux-politics and pantomime electioneering. Nils Sundermann and Phil Kearney began a five day hunger strike on Monday in an effort to draw attention to an issue, which whilst one of the most pressing of our times, has failed to make it into the election discussions in any serious way.

The footage you are watching is the 20th Feb  protest against the water charges in Dublin speeded up by a factor of four so it doesn't take a long time to play.  The match took place the Saturday before the general election is to take place in the south and it's a good time to ask with the election drawing close is this really going to bring the changes we are looking for

Great news from the courts today (17 Feb)  where 11 out of the 13 Crumlin water charge protesters arrested last year have had their cases dismissed. Although 2 are still to face trial in May this is a victory not just because 11 are already off but because the judge seems to have smacked down the Garda attempts to interpret the Public Order Act in a way that would outlaw a lot of protest. This is a significant slap down for the political policing pushed as a strategy by the Labour Party & Fine Gael to try and demoralise the water charges movement.

Our solidarity to Travellers in Galway who have occupied City Hall's carpark after the state has yet again failed to provide them with adequate housing.

Our solidarity today to the LUAS workers striking for decent pay rates.  The crisis was used by the government and capitalist class to drive down wages and ensure that a bigger share of profits went to shareholders.  The LUAS fight is a fight for all of us as a victory should be a green light to all workers to demand pay rises, including the recovery of the money lost in the cuts imposed under the crisis.  Across the world the share of income that goes to the richest 1% has soared while that going tooth rest of us has been slashed, we need to fight to reverse this.

Last November the High Court in Belfast ruled that the near blanket ban on abortion was incompatible with human rights legislation the cases of rape, incest and fatal foetal abnormalities.  While it was a landmark ruling and is reflective of the change in society from the days of religious domination it doesn't change the law. The ruling does nothing other than place pressure on Stormont to change the law.

So why is it that two high profile appeals have been submitted against the ruling? One of them from the Attorney General, John Larkin, a well known anti-choicer, and the other from the Minister of Justice, David Ford.

As the 2016 General election got underway lobby groups had already set out their stall in terms of what they do and don't want to see in government policy. IBEC (the Irish Business and Employers Confederation) have launched their manifesto and have begun hosting political debates in plush surroundings. One of their most prominent calls to politicians is to leave the universal social charge untouched, not abolished, not reduced, and not modified to relieve lower earners from paying it.

The USC is often described in the media as Ireland's most hated tax, and it's easy to see why this might be so, it's applied to even those who are not earning enough to pay tax, or support themselves and their families.

Yesterday evening we were at Connolly station in Dublin to cover a performance renouncing Ireland's anti abortion laws, this was one of a number that was happening in cities across Ireland to mark St Bridget’s day. “St Bridget is one of four Irish saints who “are recorded as openly and miraculously carrying out abortions”, the feast day was the pre-Christian festival of Imbolg (meaning ‘in the belly’).”

The performance as you’ll see in the video collectively confronts the themes of censorship, self censorship through art, action, performance, conversation and camradery. The location at Connolly is one of the transport hubs through which many of the 12 people who have to leave Ireland every day to access abortion in the UKL and beyond pass.

Tonight to mark St Bridget’s feastday performances are being staged in public settings across Ireland and London renown king Ireland's anti-abortion laws. St Bridget is one of four Irish saints who “are recorded as openly and miraculously carrying out abortions”, the feast day was the pre-Christian festival of Imbolg (meaning ‘in the belly’).

The organisers say

"The readings will take place at 6.01pm - following the traditional time for the ringing of the evening Angelus bells. Performers will each wear a blue item of clothing and read from handmade booklets. The Renunciation is an original work about the diverse circumstances of those attempting to access abortion services that are not provided in Ireland . The contents are based on legal cases and anecdotes shared with the producers of the work ‘The home|work Collective’.