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No Water Tax message brought to Ballyfermot

17/06/11

Last Saturday [June 11], éirígí in Dublin South Central brought the No Water Tax campaign to the streets of Ballyfermot. Local éirígí activists distributed leaflets and collected signatures for a petition against the tax. Opposition to the tax was evident amongst local people with over 200 signing the petition. Many expressed their anger that another tax is being forced upon them when they are already finding it difficult to survive.

One local woman asked why ordinary people were facing increased taxes and charges while bankers were getting away scot free. Another commented that she and her family simply could not afford to pay yet another tax – “where does the government think we are going to get the money for all these charges?”

Local councillor Louise Minihan commented after the protest: “A number of things are clear from the couple of hours we spent at the shops in Ballyfermot this morning. Firstly, there is a grave sense of injustice that ordinary working people are yet again being forced to pay for the greed of bankers and property developers. The so-called ‘Celtic Tiger’ by-passed this area which experienced little benefit from the economic boom years. Yet now that the economy has collapsed it is working class communities such as Ballyfermot that are forced to bail out those who made enormous profits during the boom.

“Secondly, not only is their anger at this injustice, there is also the practical reality that working people simply cannot afford to pay yet another tax. Ordinary households are struggling to survive. We met many people today who lost their jobs and are now in mortgage arrears. With over 400,000 unemployed they see little prospect of finding work. Those in work have been hit with increased income tax as well as the so called Universal Social Charge. Many of the people we met today are finding it difficult to maintain a roof over their heads – never mind finding another €500 to pay for water and household taxes.

“Finally, while there is anger and disillusionment at the false promises made before the general election, particularly by the Labour Party, there is also a determination that the people of Ballyfermot will not be railroaded into paying more stealth taxes to pay for the greed of the rich. As part of the No Water Tax campaign, éirígí will be working with local communities across Dublin and beyond as well as with other left wing parties to build a mass non-payment campaign. The battle is only beginning but by working together we can defeat this unjust tax”.

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