30,000 or 100,000? That is the politically crucial question in relation to the numbers of people who attended yesterday’s massive demonstrations in Dublin against the government-imposition of water taxes (at the behest of the EU, ECB and IMF, of course, as well as some rather influential commercial interests at home). The Garda Síochána stopped issuing official crowd-estimates for public events some time ago, a decision perhaps not unrelated to the growth of the anti-austerity rallies. During the last big anti-charges demonstration in the capital the Gardaí declined to comment on the numbers, though the news media more or less agreed on 100,000 (albeit with evident reluctance in places). Yet this time around the forces of law and order have come up with an estimate for the newspapers, though one at variance with that given by the organisers and most of the international press.
Which tells its own story.
AN SIONNACH FIONN 
The only thing they DID achieve was to annoy ordinary working class people who had to go home on foot or call a taxi, because buses were stuck in the gridlock.
The water charges are here to stay (just like in the rest of the EU) – deal with it.
And I filled and mailed my application form almost immediately after receiving it, because champagne socialists Paul Murphy or Gerry Adams are not going to pay my fines.
LikeLike
Would you say we should restrict the protests then? So as they don’t interrupt traffic, etc ?
LikeLike
There’s a difference between some traffic restrictions and a complete gridlock.
And why did those geniuses decided to protest on a weekday?
LikeLike
Boo hoo
Cry me a river. You getting home from work can be made subservient to the greater good for one measly day
The selfishness
LikeLike
So maybe we should restrict protest to weekends?
LikeLike
The 100,000 people in the demonstration included people of all classes and none.
The rest of the EU did not seek and receive the European exemption from “water charges” that Ireland did, and we already pay for our water through general taxation.
Actually the campaign against refuse-charges did pay people’s fines and a fighting fund is being sought by several of the groups involved in the water taxation campaign to pay people’s legal fees should they be brought to court or otherwise litigated.
LikeLike
Democracy and your right to grieve at work. Chroi Croga!
LikeLike
Ever notice how apologists for Banker larceny resort, when all else fails, to playing the phoney “working class” card – a la Harris and the rest of the Sindo shills. The important thing is that “working class people” aren’t inconvenienced on their way home from work by silly protests. Yes, that would be a tragedy. Mr Sutherland and the rest of the Goldman Sachs top brass are deeply concerned that working class folk aren’t inconvenienced in any way when returning home from a hard day’s work. It is in fact their number one priority – as it is for everyone at the Troika. And how the bankers who have imposed these charges detest champagne! In fact this unspeakably aristocratic beverage has never been known to pass the lips of Sutherland & co. The many pictures in various publications that suggest otherwise have been very skilfully photo-shopped by paranoid tinfoil hat conspiracy theorists.
Phoney workerism – the last refuge of the bankster cheerleaders.
LikeLike
They have to make it home in time from work to pack their stuff after their home has been repossessed or they can’t pay the 10% more rent. Can’t get those buggers out fast enough to sell or rent at the new rates!
LikeLike