Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

Government spokespersons have not failed in recent months when presented with cameras or microphones to express their full confidence in the fact that people will accept and pay the water charges and that the protest movement is a diminishing minority. They have constantly been confident in their words, but actions speak more loudly. Their actions in recent months, particularly the past 24 hours, demonstrate that they are not confident.

Consider the incredible State repression that is being meted out to anti-water charge protestors. Consider the jailing of four people for two and a half weeks simply because they protested peacefully within 20 m of water meter installations. Consider the dawn raids involving six, eight or ten gardaí on the homes of more than 30 people, including teenagers, in Tallaght for their participation in a peaceful protest relating to the Tánaiste. Consider the use of private security contractors hired by GMC-Sierra, which is looking for Irish Water and, inevitably, the taxpayer to pay for them, who are bullying and intimidating peaceful protestors. Consider the large numbers of gardaí sent into working class communities to ensure that water meters are installed against the wishes of the majority of their residents. These are not the actions of a Government that is confident that water charges will be accepted.

Separate from the State repression, consider the delay in the deadline for registration. It is incredible that, on the morning of the deadline, a Labour Party spokesperson announced that it was no longer a drop-dead deadline and had been extended to the end of this year. We are on our fourth deadline, such is the enthusiasm for getting on the train of Irish Water. Consider the delay in the EUROSTAT test, which should have been occurring in or around now but will instead happen this summer at the earliest. Consider the incredible bluffing, bluster and bullying by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, in the past 24 hours. These are all the actions of a Government that is scared, particularly of the massive non-payment that will sink their water charges and Irish Water. The Government is also scared that this will sink it and its austerity agenda. It is scared of knocking on doors at elections when a significant number of people have refused to pay. It is also scared of this movement's political potential. This morning, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, stated that some of those involved in the anti-water charges movement were just interested in bringing the Government down. No, we are not "just interested" in that. We are also interested in smashing the entire austerity agenda, showing that there is an alternative to austerity and bringing down water charges.

We make no bones about it, though. We are interested in bringing down this Government, which has implemented such savage austerity and betrayed election promises, and the system of austerity and neoliberal capitalism that operates in the interests of the 1%. Irish Water is a microcosm, where the role of Denis O'Brien at the heart of a nexus of politics, money and media-----

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