MONAGHAN URGED TO MOBILISE IN WATER CHARGES BOYCOTT

PETER HUGHES

The first stages of a mobilisation campaign aimed at maximising the non-payment of water charges among the citizens of Monaghan were put in place at a public meeting in the town’s Hillgrove Hotel last Thursday evening.

A crowd of over 70 people heard Anti-Austerity Alliance TD for Dublin South-West Paul Murphy state that a nationwide campaign of large-scale water charge non-payment would put immense pressure on the political establishment to abolish the controversial levy following the next General Election.

Deputy Murphy exhorted people who had not yet paid to hold off until after the election – which is expected to take place sometime within the coming nine months – and predicted that a concerted campaign of resistance could lay the foundation for an electoral challenge by the combined political left “based on people power and mobilisation against austerity”.

The TD was scathingly critical of Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Government Ministers and Irish Water for failing to disclose details of the rate of payment for the first recently issued water charge bills.

There were calls at the meeting – organised by local anti-water charge campaigners – for efforts to coalesce widespread public disaffection with austerity measures into a coherent political movement that would address a broad range of social issues and form a distinct “Left” alternative to the conservative, right-of-centre tendencies of the mainstream Irish political parties.

It was agreed to hold a follow-up meeting in the Teach na nDaoine Family Resource Centre this, Thursday evening to organise information dissemination and the canvass of support for boycott action.

Prior to introducing Deputy Murphy, Shane Finan of the Monaghan Anti-Water Tax Campaign told the audience that the first water bills had now issued, and he thought there was a need to have a discussion on the local boycott of water and a general movement against austerity. The Government had their own agenda on the water charges, and it was important to let people know the real facts, and to give them confidence so they could boycott the charges themselves and encourage others how to boycott.

“People probably know that it is very difficult to get information from the Government,” Paul Murphy told the meeting, beginning …