From 1 July, Irish Water is seeking to implement excessive-use water charges of up to €500 per year. This will come as no great surprise to those of us who highlighted the programme for government agreed between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael back in 2016. The Socialist Party opposed and warned about this element of the legislation at the time, as we knew that is could be used as a back door to the re-introduction of full water charges in the future. The legislation allows the government to lower the amount of water that is considered normal usage over time. Just like with tuition fees and bin charges, the amounts will be increased incrementally until the idea of direct payment for water becomes normalised, or at least this is their hope. read full story / add a comment

The Right2Water campaign is currently developing a submission in relation to the River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) which will be submitted to the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government as part of their consultation process.

In order to ensure all Right2Water Ireland's supporters' voices are heard and are involved in this process, we are asking you to fill in this short survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PKN3YXN

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This is a repost of a report by the WSM on the Water Charges protest last Saturday April 8th.

Thousands of protesters converged on Connolly and Heuston stations in Dublin yesterday as part of the 9th national demonstration against the water charges. The demonstration was called by Right2Water, the umbrella group of left wing political parties and trade unions, as part of an effort to pressurise the government to abandon their attempts to implement water charges.
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WATER CHARGES AREN’T GONE…YET. WE NEED ONE MORE PUSH TO END THEM

Water Charges haven’t gone away. Fine Gael are still trying to get them in through the back door.

A special Oireachtas Committee has been meeting since December. It must report to Government by April 14. Its recommendations will decide whether water charges are scrapped or retained.

Fine Gael are proposing a charge for so called wilful waste of water. This would mean water meters in every house and a billing system just like water charges. read full story / add a comment

A working paper on the water charges movement now available online for comment and discussion. read full story / add a comment

We reproducing this article by Dr Rory Hearne, Researcher & Author of "Public Private Partnerships in Ireland: failed experiment or the way forward ?" to highlight some important background and context to this issue

Fears about the privatisation of public water provision was a central motivating factor behind the Right2Water protest movement but concerns about the privatisation of water are held by many other political and civil society groupings. The recently published Expert Commission on Water Services Report highlighted a widespread public “concern about the potential privatisation of Irish Water”. They stated that public responses to their consultation “expressed concerns that water charges, and metering of domestic households, could eventually lead to privatisation”. The Report notes that this “was sometimes set in the context of wider concerns about privatisation of public services, and the commodification of water”. However, it is widely known that various public and private interests have been preparing the ground for the potential privatisation of the Irish public water system. In this article I provide evidence that should concern all those worried about the potential privatisation of Irish public water. This centres on the on-going implementation of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the provision of public water infrastructure in Ireland. These PPPs are a form of ‘creeping privatisation’ that makes the full privatisation of our public water system a real possibility in the future. read full story / add a comment

Press Release - 30th Nov 2016

At a press conference this morning on the Dail Plinth, AAA-PBP TDs reacted to the findings of the Expert Commission on Water Charges.

Paul Murphy TD said “The report by the Expert Commission is a political fudge to allow Fine Gael to claim water charges are still in place and for Fianna Fail to say that water charges are gone.

“The report acts as a Trojan Horse to allow for the future re-introduction of water charges. The idea of ‘excessive usage’ and a free allowance keeps the principle of paying for water in place. read full story / add a comment

The Irish government's attempt to introduce domestic water charges in Ireland is not going well. In fact, for them it's been a disaster because it's sparked off a huge upsurge in working class self organisation and direct action. Last Saturday 17th Sept, saw thousands of anti-water charges campaigners flooding the streets of Dublin o to again voice their opposition to Irish Water & water charges and as a show of strength for the movement. read full story / add a comment

September 17th sees the next major national march against the 'we can't believe they are not dead already' water charges. We respect that many anarchists will be marching with their local groups but for those who are not we thought it would be good to have an anarchist bloc and march together, everyone can then meet up at the end. read full story / add a comment

The next Right2Water national demonstration takes place on Saturday 17th of September from 2pm onwards.

Right2Water will be hosting another national demonstration in Dublin to tell our government to respect our democracy and abolish water charges read full story / add a comment

AAA-PBP Motion calls for Ministerial order to cap charges and reinstate waivers for low income families

Dail debate and vote to take place next week on AAA-PBP motion calling for immediate government action to prevent planned increase in waste charges

Next week, the Dail will debate and vote upon a AAA-PBP Private Members Motion calling for an immediate Ministerial order to prevent private waste companies from implementing the planned dramatic increases in household waste charges.

The motion submitted today by AAA-PBP will be debated in the Dail next Tuesday

Bin charges are set to rise by between 100 and 200%. These charges will inflict an unsustainable burden for hard pressed households if the proposed increases by private waste companies are implemented and will undoubtedly lead to a dramatic increase in illegal dumping. read full story / add a comment

Dublin Says No...We are the ordinary people of Ireland. We have taken it upon ourselves to march weekly in unity with many other communities.. All welcome.

Sat June 18th - Meeting Points Connolly Station (Dublin North) and Heuston Station (Dublin South) at 1pm
March to the GPO.

"We Shall Rise Again" -James Connolly 1916. We need to do it again in 2016 read full story / add a comment

Demonstate 5pm - Dail Eireann, Kildare Street, Weds 25 May

Support Dail Motion To Finish Off Water Charges

There is a demonstration against water charges on Wednesday 25th May at 5pm at the Dail whilst the Right2Water TDs have tabled a motion to scrap Irish Water and water charges.

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A cross party group of TDs have expressed concern at the jailing of two political activists, Sean Doyle and Eamonn McGrath. Both men have been remanded in custody until the 21st of May and 24th of June respectively for taking part in a peaceful protest in Kilcoole. Sean was arrested after being assaulted by an individual in front of Gardai while his attacker went unpunished. The same attacker then viciously pushed a woman to the ground. The Gardaí present saw fit to arrest the protesters for trespass while they gently escorted the assailant away. No charges have been brought against this man. The continuation of the political policing of the Irish Water protests exposes the Garda, yet again, as a force used to protect the status quo at the expense of ordinary people. read full story / add a comment

All taxation is bourgeois! read full story / add a comment

Total abolition of water charges... read full story / add a comment

We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible.’ An affirmation that should, by now, be familiar to most of us. read full story / add a comment

Right2Water/Right2Change are hosting a national protest against water charges and a festival for change ahead of the 2016 election.

'Another Ireland is Possible', but we have to fight for it. We have a Right2Water, a Right2Health, a Right2Education, a Right2Housing and we deserve a country that's not based on cronyism, corruption or greed, but instead one based on equality, democracy and social justice. read full story / add a comment

There was a reasonable turnout at Saturday's Water Charges protest in Dublin. There were two main assembly points, Christchurch and Connolly station and both groups met up on O'Connell street outside the GPO where the speeches were given and crowd generally entertained with music at the start and end.

Estimates for the numbers are hard to come back as it seems RTE, the government and media like to play down the numbers while the estimate from Right2Water seemed a bit high but it was probably somewhere between 10,000 and 20,00 in Dublin. read full story / add a comment

The Right2Water campaign said today (Wednesday January 20th) that water charges are being used to give tax breaks to corporations and the wealthiest in our society. Pointing out that households only use 10 percent of water but are now expected to pay up to 78 percent of all costs while corporations and agriculture use 90 percent of all water but will only pay 22 percent of the costs, Right2Water said that water charges amount to a ‘transfer of wealth’. read full story / add a comment