Water charges inspired new type of action

Well over half of those involved in the anti-water charge movement had never before protested.

The first in-depth survey of the anti-water movement, published today, dispelled the notion that the majority of people taking to the streets to demonstrate against the water charge are so-called “professional protesters”.

Underatken by Rory Hearne of Maynooth University, the survey of more than 2,500 anti-water protestors in December found 54.4% had never protested at all before taking part in the current demonstrations.

It also found that, for the majority of protestors, the water charges were not the principal reason they had decided to take to the streets.

For example, “austerity has gone too far” was the most cited reason for demonstrating against the charges — cited by 59.6%.

This was followed by to “stop the future privatisation of Irish Water (58.7%), the “abolition of water charges” (57.3%), the “bank bailouts/debt” (42.9%), and “water is a human right” (41.3%).

The survey also indicates that a large number of those currently protesting were supporters of Government parties in the last election.

For example, 65% stated that who they will vote for in the upcoming election is a change on who they voted for in 2011 — with a majority planning to move away from Fine Gael and Labour to opposition parties and Independents.

Some 70% of those who said that they would change their vote had voted for either Fine Gael or Labour in the past.

In a mark of disillusionment with the traditional brand of politics, almost 80% said there is a need for a new political movement/party, with the same figure stating they would vote for candidates affiliated to or endorsed by the Right2Water campaign.

This is further reflected in the number of people who felt traditional politics would not bring about the demise of water charges.

Some 77.6% said the most effective way of bringing about change was through protesting, compared to 52.3% who cited voting, and 40.8% who cited community activism. Just 28% said the most the effective way was by contacting a local political representative.

The impact of social media on the anti-water movement is clearly reflected in the survey — with over 82% stating they received most of their information through social media, while 86% hit out at the role of the traditional media stating it had been too negative towards the anti-water movement.

Almost 70% of protestors also remain confident that the campaign will succeed with 92% stating they do not intend to pay for water at any point.

Dr Hearne said the most striking thing about the findings was the number of issues relating austerity and the banks that featured in the minds of protestors.

“I was surprised just how austerity measures and the bank bailout seemed to be so strong in the minds of people,” said Dr Hearne. “The phrase is used a lot but it seems that the water charges seem to have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

“People have felt the impact of austerity through the cuts to pay, services, medical cards but the water issue really captured people as it affects everybody and campaigners really felt it was an issue they had the power to do something about by stopping the water meters, non-payment and through mass demonstration.”

DISCOVER MORE CONTENT LIKE THIS