Tens of thousands protest a tax on water supplies in Dublin

[SoleSurvivor]

Tens of thousands protest a tax on water supplies in Dublin

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 11 December, 2014, 10:17pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 11 December, 2014, 10:17pm

Associated Press in Dublin

Water tax protesters demonstrate close to government buildings in Dublin city centre. Photo: AP

Tens of thousands of protesters brought Dublin to a standstill in a mass protest against Ireland's planned new tax on household water supplies, the last major measure in the country's six-year austerity drive.

Police estimated more than 30,000 people attended the main "Right2Water" rally on Wednesday in the square outside the office of Prime Minister Enda Kenny, where socialist and Irish nationalist politicians appealed from a makeshift stage for the public to boycott their water bills. "No way! We won't pay!" the crowd chanted. Two of Dublin's most popular folk-rock singers, Damien Dempsey and Glen Hansard, led the crowd in songs of guitar-strumming protest.

Elsewhere, near the cordoned-off entrance to Ireland's parliament building, protesters chanting "Whose streets? Our streets!" tried to topple security barriers and hurled objects at police lines. One officer was hospitalised with facial injuries before police reinforcements donning full riot gear spurred the crowd to back off.

As evening rush hour approached, groups of protesters blocked key roads and bridges over the River Liffey, gridlocking traffic for more than three hours and forcing some commuters to abandon their vehicles and walk.

Ireland's government is facing its greatest test since admitting it bungled the creation of a new nationwide utility, Irish Water.

The initial deadline for households to register for the new charge came and went on October 1 with widespread refusals, and militant crowds have blocked Irish Water workers from installing meteres in many working-class neighbourhoods.

The government, seeking to calm the air of rebellion, proposed smaller, more clearly defined water charges due to come into force on January 31. Right2Water protest leaders vowed on Wednesday they would fill Dublin with even more protesters on that day.