Workers Solidarity Movement

Kathleen McMahon the governor of Mountjoy Prison's Dóchas Centre has resigned after 10 years in the job saying that the prison was chronically overcrowded. 137 women are crammed into a space designed for 85 many for 'low risk' crimes including failure to meet loan repayments to credit unions for which she says "they never should have been jailed." A number of Shell to Sea campaigners have also been jailed in Mountjoy over the last few months including four for trivial Public Order offences that were later struck out at their trial and where it was judged they had been subject to wrongful detention.

Six activists from the left republican group eirigi occupied the premises of the Anglo Irish Bank on Stephen's Green this morning as part of a protest at the more than 30 billion that bank is taking off Irish workers as a result of NAMA.

Shell to Sea campaigner Niall Harnett was sentenced at Ballina on Wednesday to six months in Castlerea prison for protests against Shell's proposed experimental pipeline.  The sentence arose from Niall going to the aid of another Shell to Sea campaigner during a 'Reclaim the Beach' protest in 2008.  He also had a five month sentence confirmed by the court – these sentences will be served concurrently. Mr Harnett further had a two year driving ban affirmed. 

The INTO Vote No Campaign today launched a new, updated version of the leaflet calling on members of the union to reject the Public Sector deal. This leaflet will be distributed throughout the country at INTO information meetings and in school staffrooms in the coming weeks in advance of the ballot of members which takes place during May (closing date 21st May).

Michael Taft has provided a useful quick review of the ESRI Quaterly commentary and the contradictions with government claims over at his Notes on the Front blog.  He says this points at a "joyless an jobless" recovery

Over a 1500 people gathered at the Garden of Remembrance Saturday afternoon in a Rally organised and called by the Socialist party to remember the 15 year old, Toyosi Shitta-Bey who was stabbed to death in Tyrrelstown on good Friday. Today was an important day for people to stand up and show that there are people who say racism and thuggery have no place in the Ireland that we want. It was a day to remember a young inspirational life – this boys death may make us face up to the racism that exists in our society so that we deal with it, and extinguish it.

On 31 March 2010, workers in the Spanish public railway companies Renfe-Operadora (public transport operator) and ADIF (infrastructure administrator) carried out a 24 hour strike.The strike was organised by the Federal Railway Union of the Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT), a radical anarchist influenced union.

In a major setback for the government the executive of Impact, the country’s largest public sector union has rejected the deal which was negotiated last week.

Providence Resources the energy exploration company owned by the multi millionare O'Reilly family has announced that it is to start drilling for oil only 10km to sea from the city of Dublin.  If it does hit oil then like all the other energy exploration companies it will not have to pay one cent in royalities thanks to the Great Oil & Gas Giveaway deal created by Minister Ray Burke (subsequently jailed for corruption) and Bertie Ahern among others.  The O'Reilly family also own a huge percentage of the Irish media, the same media that has failed to cover this Great Oil & Gas Giveaway and that in the case of the Sunday Independant in particular has actively attacked the few journalists like Fintan O'Toole that have dared to speak out.