Workers Solidarity Movement

Shell to Sea held a well attended press conference today at which it was highlighted that the video recording of Garda discussing using rape threats as part of an interrogation was symptomatic of the policing of the entire Shell Corrib project. Local resident John Monaghan revealed that another Garda sergeant made abusive sexual remarks to him at a previous protest. ULA TD Joe Higgins added his support to the Shell to Sea demand for an independent international inquiry into both the behavior of Garda and of the controversial private security company IRMS at the Corrib protests over the last decade.

Garda in Mayo took revenge for the publication of the Corrib cops rape threat video yesterday by attacking Shell to Sea campaigners during another protest near the site where the women were arrested.  Alongside this there are clear indications of a dirty tricks campaign being waged by the Garda Press Office. The fact that Garda from the same division felt confident attacking the friends of the women only hours after the so called investigation had been announced by the Garda Press office demonstrates exactly how serious they expected such an investigation to be.  These actions confirm that the  rape threat as an interrogation method discussion captured on the video is not simply an issue of the Garda directly involved on the video but indicative of the brutal nature of policing in the area where individual Garda continue to expect to have a free hand in attacking campaigners.

ESB today announced a range of price changes that could decrease the average billpayer's costs by up to 17% for electricity per unit and 6% for gas per unit.. However, this will only apply to customers in good standing, i.e. not to the 100,000-plus ESB customers who are having difficulty paying their bills.

Gardai have made 177 arrests in a crackdown on "aggressive" or "inappropriate begging" in Dublin city in the past 2 months.  The Dublin Chamber of Commerce are jubliant, boasting that begging has dropped tenfold as a result of the crackdown, meanwhile no charges have been brought nor even any serious garda investigation concluded into the corrupt awarding of a mobile phone licence to Denis O'Brien by Michael Lowry.

On the 1st of April 2011 the government got in on the April Fool's game early, by announcing yet another visit to the trough for the endless bailing out of the country's basket case banks to the tune of 70 billion euros. Anyone remember when Brian Lenihan swore on his life that 40 billion was definitely the last of it? My how we laughed...

In the last week of February two WSM members travelled to London to take part in the second conference of Anarkismo organisations in Europe.  Anarkismo is a global network of anarchist organisations united around the Anarkismo.net website, the Anarkismo statement and the Anarchist Black Cat discussion forums.  WSM sees Anarkismo.net as the centre of our international work.

On the second day of intended works on the controversial Corrib gas project, Shell’s attempts to restart work have yet again been stopped. In an attempt to stop campaigners blocking access to the proposed compound site, private security firm IRM-S parked a vehicle in the gateway, hoping to remove the vehicle when workers attempted to gain access. At 7 o clock yesterday evening a member of Rossport Solidarity Camp turned the security vehicle into a blockade by locking onto the undercarraige of the vehicle stopping it from moving.

This morning Shell are attempting to restart work on their highly controversial on-shore pipeline at Aughoose in Erris Co. Mayo.  Shell are attempting to build the fences around their planned tunneling compound and with construction on-going only a few hours, Gardai have already violently attacked protestors with two people receiving medical attention one with suspected broken ribs.  Subsequent protests were broken up, by Gardai and private security, with Jim Farrell, former army ranger and managing director of private security firm IRM- S being personally involved. (pic: RSC via Indymedia.ie)

Over 10 years on from the signing on the Good Friday Agreement and working-class communities in the North have failed to reap the rewards from the ‘peace dividend’ according to a new study conducted by the assembly’s Research and Library Service. The report which examined deprivation and social disadvantage since the 1998 agreement found that the proportion of people claiming benefits and unable to heat their homes had ‘increased’, poverty had remained ‘broadly unchanged’ and unemployment levels had began to ‘rise’.

There were clashes earlier in Brussels between riot police and trade union demonstrators as the EU Summit got underway today. An estimated 20,000 people took part in the demonstration against the austerity agenda being pursued by the EU and its constituent governments.