Kenny pours petrol, not water, to turn tide of public opinion

Baying mobs, bomb threats, and allegations of attempts to kidnap the Tánaiste dominated the Dáil.

As the Government struggled to regain control of the political agenda following weeks of dither and drift over its chaotic bid to introduce water charges, Taoiseach Enda Kenny went on the offensive in a rowdy leaders’ questions.

Sensing that the ugly scenes in which protesters trapped Joan Burton in her car for two hours at the weekend could mark a shift in support for the mass anti-charging campaign, the Taoiseach accused opponents of debasing democracy.