Water charge protest something of a damp squib

Despite the activists being compared to ISIS, there was no violence, the only strong language was spoekn in the Dail, and the Right2Water coalition is crumbling faster than our ageing pipe system.

SO, that’s what ISIS looks like close-up, is it? Despite claims from one Fine Gael TD that the anti-water-charge activists were threatening to bring to Irish shores the mayhem that the self-styled Islamic State has imposed on large swathes of Syria and Iraq, the mass protest passed off remarkably peacefully.

Yes, the usual idiots threw things at the guards blocking the end of Kildare St, and it must have been maddening to be trapped on a bus for three hours while demonstrators, pointlessly, blocked O’Connell Bridge, but no journalist was publicly beheaded by the mob; no minority religious group was enslaved; indeed, the only real casualty was this Government’s credibility, which was, of course, a self-inflicted wound.

How ironic that Environment Minister, Alan Kelly — nick-named AK47 — was accused of telling an opposition TD, who had complained in the Dáil about his handling of water charges, “Would you ever f**k off?”, as that was exactly the sentiment towards the Government coming from the streets.

But, as ever, in the chaotic introduction of the tap tax, no-one was quite clear what was happening, as Mattie McGrath did not actually hear the “nasty expletive” that was supposedly said to him — but was told of it by a colleague — and Mr Kelly claims he does not remember saying it.

However, in classic, nonsensical, Yes Minister-style language, Mr Kelly then told the Dáil: “If I did say something involuntarily, I withdraw it and apologise.”

So, even though he can’t remember doing anything wrong, he’s not going to do it again, and will say sorry anyway.

The parliamentary rumpus was like the water-charge mess in miniature, apart from the apology, of course — after the Government was accused of being offensive by hitting people with the levy, it then rowed back on the borderline sadistic threats to turn down to a “trickle” the water supply to hard-pressed families if they were unable to pay. And it then brought in a streamlined, flat-rate charge that made a mockery of the original claims that this was all about conservation and the environment.

Ministers tried to play down the protests, but the fact that some 40,000 people turned up outside the Dáil to vent their anger on a weekday, braving the bitter cold — and, it must be said, some ropey folk singers on the stage — was impressive.

But, in a rare turn of luck for the Government, the anti-charge coalition appears to be fracturing as fast as the water-supply system, which is in desperate need of investment.

Sinn Féin made a concerted effort to turn the march into its own occupied territory with a flurry of banners around the stage, much to the annoyance of the Leftependents, who see the party as rank opportunists who had urged people to pay the charges — as to have done otherwise would have been “irresponsible” — until that stance lost SF the Dublin South West by-election in October.

Since then, Gerry Adams has abandoned the “responsibility” stance to reap more votes in a political somersault that would put a circus acrobat to shame.

And the date of the next planned mass march, in late January, is now in doubt, as ministers hope this week’s events mark the end of the water war.

Ironically, the Government had a sound case to argue on water-charging; it is the norm abroad, and how else was a near-bankrupt country supposed to raise the billions needed to repair a porous system that sheds 40% of the supply? But the arrogance, the threats, the inability to get a grip on metering, the over-staffing, the bonus culture, and the sheer waste at Irish Water ignited public rage and made the water tax a symbol of every burden heaped on the people by a Government increasingly out of touch with the reality of their lives.

And the crass comments by Health Minister, Leo Varadkar, that he is “bothered” that people will protest against paying €3 a week, when the country faces much bigger problems, does not help that image.

Little Leo should also be very careful what he wishes for this Christmas, as it could be a very bleak new year in our hospitals — will that be a crisis worthy of mass street demonstrations, Minister? Three quid a week may not seem much to the likes of a Cabinet minister to whom we pay €3,000 a week, but, as in the days of Marie Antoinette, some people cannot afford to buy bread in this country.

And it’s not some hysterical lefty saying that, it is Taoiseach Enda Kenny himself.

“The macro-economic figures are heading in the right direction, but that is of little consolation to someone who does not have bread in the kitchen,” Mr Kenny said.

The Taoiseach did not explain why, after nearly four years in power, people in this country cannot afford something as basic as bread — nor apologise for the fact — because he was too busy engaging in an early election stunt highlighting a Fine Gael “Budget calculator” that shows you all the cash the Government showered you with in October.

But, as Enda spun his wheel of (mis)fortune, he conveniently forgot to tell punters that the calculator did not take into account water charges or property-tax impositions.

Bit of an omission there, Taoiseach, and one that made the stunt into an even bigger farce.

That is a view backed-up by the ESRI, which has delivered a thundering report stating that despite all the Government’s claims to the contrary, society’s better-off folk fared the best in the Budget.

FG deputy, Noel Coonan, was forced to withdraw his ridiculous comparison of water-tax protestors to ISIS, but this Government has a far bigger credibility problem than him.

Ireland may have escaped the worst ravages of the so-called ‘weather bomb’ this week, but the Coalition now faces its own ‘whether bomb’ — whether it can be taken seriously at all anymore?