Workers Solidarity Movement

On Friday 20 Nov Enda Kenny received an angry welcome in Roscommon which Fine Gaelers have been whining about in the media. The statement below explains how protesters " began to sing the anthem of the anti water charges protesters in Dublin in solidarity with them: 'You can stick your water meters up your arse / you can stick your 100 euro up your arse'. Some of us also repeatedly told him that we did not want our water supply privatised and that it was time for him to go as his mandate to govern has disappeared. We were surrounded by Gardai and asked to leave and did so without any fuss."

In a very welcome development Asylum Seekers have come together to build an independent, self-organised nationwide asylum seeker movement in Ireland. The  new group is called MASI - Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland and stands for Freedom, Dignity & Justice for Asylum Seekers!

RTE were full of news this morning about how Obama's new migration initiative might improve the lives of the huge numbers of people from Ireland illegally in the US. It's great to see the people trapped in detention centres in Ireland step up their resistance to our cruel regime.

Over 200 women demonstrated tonight outside of Coolock Garda station against the wave of Garda violence at water meter installation protests.

The government are in full panic mode as the media scare stories they pushed so hard about 'dissidents', 'sinister fringes' and 'violent' sit down protesters have failed to divide the movement. Neither has the increased level of Garda violence frightened people off the streets.

Running scared from the huge numbers mobilising to resist the water charge the establishment are now pulling out all the stops. Over the weekend we saw an image of a single brick being thrown at a Garda car used to try and divide the movement through saturation coverage of the brick and the demand that resistors condemn 'violence'

Then on Sunday as Enda Kenny drove out of the Mansion house three Garda grabbed Fiona who was protesting there and threw her head first into a metal bollard at the side of the road. In the video of the incident you can hear a sickening thud as she hits the bollard but you can also see the considerable force put into throwing her. But don't expect a media outcry about the violence of 3 large men smashing a women's head* off a metal pole, instead expect to hear once more about that brick that bounced off the back of a car.

There were significant disturbances in Santry & Coolock last night following a Garda assault on water charge campaigners protesting a visit by Enda Kenny and Denis O'Brien.

These images are from the video at the link  which shows why the campaigners became so outraged. As Enda Kenny drove through the crowd (flashing a dismissive thumbs up sign at the protesters) Garda were assaulting them and throwing them to the ground.

Later multiple arrests were made as Enda left the event and then Garda attacked solidarity protesters with pepper spray who had gone to Coolock Garda station.

Over 2000 people marched in Newbridge, Co. Kildare in the lashing rain today to protest the government's plans to force us to pay twice for our water. The march gathered at 2pm at the top of the town, near the hotel Keadeen and then proceeded to make its way down towards the town hall.

Nov 1st saw demonstrations against the water charge all over Ireland. Around 1000 people from Dublin 7 alone marched down Constitution hill to join the huge anti Water Charges rally at the GPO

According to RTE these are the changes in the Budget. After years of making us pay for the crisis it appears that a few carefully selected crumbs are being thrown under the table to quiet us down. Predictions are that most people won't see a significant change in take-home pay. Most of the positives on social welfare and services represent the government returning a fraction of what was taken and the 'Make the Youth Emigrate' dole rates remain in place.

Following increasing Garda suppression of community resistance to water meters tens of thousands of people took part in a march against the water tax in Dublin on October 11th. This was the largest demonstration since 2010 and reflects a broad rejection of the way the costs of the capitalist crisis continue to be imposed on ordinary workers. The huge size of the demonstration certainly suggest a mass boycott of the tax could make it impossible to implement, as was the case in the last attempt to introduce a water tax.