Winning the Water War from Red & Black Revolution No 3 http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2724/anpubdx.html
Ireland is famous for being a place where you =
can get all four seasons in the passing of one =
day. The predominant season here is the rainy =
season which extends through spring, summer, =
autumn and winter . The one thing we are not =
short of on this island is water. But then, since =
when did our 'leaders' or the authorities let the =
facts get in the way of further exploitation. =
Over the last three years in Dublin a battle has =
raged between the councils, trying to implement a =
charge for the supply of water and the people =
opposed to this policy. This is the story of the =
campaign against the imposition of this double =
tax. =
When the domestic rates were abolished in 1977 =
following the general election an increase took =
place in income tax and Value Added Tax. The =
money made from these increases was to be used to =
fund the local authorities, who had previously =
relied on the domestic rates for their funding. =
Central government was to pay a rate support =
grant to Local Authorities. This rate support =
grant increased until 1983 when the then Fine =
Gael and Labour government decided to cut this =
grant and brought in legislation to allow the =
councils to levy service charges.
So though people were effectively paying more =
taxes, less of this money made its way to local =
councils, so they were asked to pay more money in =
the guise of 'service charges'. Eighty seven per =
cent of all the tax paid in this country is by =
the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) worker. This is a =
massive amount of money especially when =
contrasted to the fact that many multi-national =
companies are attracted to this country for =
exactly the opposite reasons, because they have =
to pay relatively small amounts of tax. Put plain =
and simply the beleaguered tax-payer in Ireland =
has been getting screwed not once but twice. This =
is what made this campaign so important.
The Son of Rates
In the 1980's resistance in Dublin led to the =
scrapping of the first attempt to introduce a =
water tax in Dublin. Other successful campaigns =
took place in Limerick and Waterford. In =
Waterford also, around the Paddy Browne Road a =
gang of contractors who were cutting off non- payers were held hostage by residents and =
Waterford Glass workers.
In other counties the charges continued and by =
1993 the amount expected to be paid by a =
household varied from one county to another. The =
service charge for Kilkenny was =A370 per annum =
plus extra money for refuse collection while in =
the County of Cavan you had to pay =A3180 to the =
local council. In 1995 the service charges =
continued to rise with Mayo commanding an annual =
charge of between =A3205 and =A3235.
The Water-Charge is Born
The writing was on the wall that a new charge was =
about to be levied on the people of Dublin when =
on January 1st 1994 Dublin County was divided =
into three new County Council areas. Fingal, =
South Dublin, and Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown were =
created and they all had to strike a rate which =
they would then be charged to each household for =
the water service. The existence of three new =
areas made it easier to administer the charge on =
each household.
All the councillors had been elected on the basis =
that they opposed this charge. In 1985 the Fianna =
F=E1il manifesto for the local elections stated =
"Fianna F=E1il are totally opposed to the new =
system of local charges and on return to office =
will abolish these charges and repeal the =
legislation under which they are imposed ." =
However when the time came to show their =
opposition they stalled before striking a rate. =
In South County it was =A370, in Fingal it was =A385, =
in Dun Laoighaire/Rathdown it varied from =A350 to =
=A393.
The sorry excuse that arose on the occasion of =
all these politicians proving themselves to be =
liars was that they were forced to strike a water =
charge rate or else the government would dissolve =
the council. Councillor Don Tipping of Democratic =
Left later wrote his excuse in the Tallaght Echo =
"We (Democratic Left) faced down a threat to =
abolish the council in 1994 by F=EDanna Fa=EDl =
Minister Smith, who insisted that we must have =
the water charges." The way Mr Tipping and his =
fellow councillors 'faced down' this threat was =
to concede totally to the government wishes. It =
is on such weak reasons that politicians' =
promises are broken. This whole episode also =
speaks volumes about how our 'democracy' works. =
The government pushes for Water Charges and the =
councillors bluster but fail to oppose it in any =
meaningful way. Instead they set the charge and =
set about the business of collecting it. In just =
a short space of time nearly all the elected =
councillors went from opposing water charges to =
imposing water charges.
Opposition blooms
In the spring 1994 issue of Workers Solidarity =
(paper of the Workers Solidarity Movement) Gregor =
Kerr wrote "Householders and residents in Dublin =
should immediately prepare to resist these =
charges. If nobody pays, they will be impossible =
to collect." Over the summer of 1994 political =
opposition to these water charges was drummed up =
as many public meetings were held all over the =
county. Members of Militant Labour (now known as =
the Socialist Party) and the Workers Solidarity =
Movement and many non-aligned activists worked at =
leafleting information about the forthcoming =
charge. We showed what had happened when similar =
charges were imposed in the other cities, towns =
and county areas. The water charges had soon =
developed into a service charge and now =
households were facing annual bills from their =
local councils in excess of =A3100. We knew this =
first charge was the thin end of the wedge and we =
went about getting that information into as many =
houses as possible.
Long hours were spent going around housing =
estates dropping in leaflets talking to people on =
the doorsteps. I remember spending evenings =
walking around one particular suburb with =
comrades leafleting for a meeting which we had =
organised in a local pub. After distributing =
thousands of leaflets two people turned up for =
the meeting, one from the local newspaper and one =
a worker in the council. In Templeogue people had =
not been involved in campaigns and there was =
little history of community based struggle. A =
sense of community appeared absent as each person =
looked after their own interests. But this area =
became more organised later on in the campaign =
and more people became involved as the council =
began to drag people to court. The hard work done =
a year earlier was rewarded as the campaign =
blossomed in the area.
The response was different in other areas of the =
city. In Firhouse 70 people showed up for the =
initial meeting. The activists organised a survey =
as a good means to develop contacts and as a =
means to argue against the charges. Persistent =
work by activists helped raise the awareness of =
the issue. As people became aware of the campaign =
more and more became involved.
On September 24th a conference was held and this =
gave rise to the Federation of Dublin Anti-Water =
Charges Campaigns. Councillor Joe Higgins =
(Militant Labour) was elected Chairperson of the =
campaign. Gregor Kerr, a member of the WSM, was =
elected secretary of the campaign. We prepared =
and built for a march which took place in =
November 1994. Local meetings were held thoughout =
Dublin and they were generally well attended. A =
march took place in the city centre and over 500 =
people protested at the implementation of this =
double taxation. The campaign was by now well and =
truly alive and we were building all the time by =
raising the issue where we could. Over the course =
of late 1994/early 1995 nearly every house in =
Fingal and South Dublin had received a leaflet =
from the campaign.
Ambush in the Night
By early December '94, South Dublin County =
Council had had enough of our campaign. People =
weren't paying the bill fast enough for their =
liking so they decided to up the ante and =
declared that if people didn't pay their =
outstanding bills within a certain number of days =
cut-offs would commence. The councils were now =
resorting to the tactics of the school yard bully =
by their use of threatening language in letters =
and ultimately with the threat of cutting off =
people's water supply.
All the activists raced into action. There were =
stake-outs at the water inspectors' houses. We =
would follow them around to ensure that they =
didn't attempt any cut off under the cover of the =
night. Clondalkin people organised their own cars =
to patrol around that area. CB radios were =
installed in the cars so that we were in constant =
communication with each other as we monitored the =
movements of the men who would try to cut =
people's water off. One house in Tallaght was =
turned into a virtual Head Quarters for the =
campaign. The phone calls kept flooding in. =
Communities learned to be vigilant of the blue =
Dublin Water Works vans and were very wary when =
they came into the estates. Children playing =
football on the park were told to knock on the =
doors when they saw such vans in the area. Indeed =
one van ventured into an estate in Clondalkin =
village and when the kids alerted everyone to =
their presence they hopped back into their van =
and drove away rapidly!
I remember freezing one night in a not so new car =
with a comrade from Militant Labour and waiting =
on one water inspector to move. I got out of the =
car to answer the call of mother nature behind a =
bush and I heard a huge roar from the car. Our =
man was on the move at 5.00am in the morning, a =
little early to be starting work we thought. He =
was aware that he was being followed so he gave =
up and went back home via Crumlin Garda station =
where he moaned about our close attention.
All our efforts did not go unnoticed. One South =
County Dublin councillor called us "political =
pygmies." The Evening Herald entitled us the =
"water bandits." But the final result from the =
reports the campaign received was that 12 houses =
were disconnected and they were duly reconnected. =
The campaign had won the first battle and no =
house would be without water for that Christmas.
Little Changes except the Government
Things now suddenly changed because a different =
game was being played in the D=E1il. The Brendan =
Smith affair [1] caused the collapse of the =
Fianna F=E1il and Labour government.
A new government was formed. It still had Labour =
in it, but this time their partners in government =
were F=EDne Gael and Democratic Left. With the =
change in government came a change in the tactics =
used to try to extract the double tax of the =
water charge. In the D=E1il the Minister for the =
Environment announced that the power of the local =
authorities to disconnect water was to be =
'delimited'. When pursued on this issue he said =
"The Government will delimit their power to =
ensure that water supply is not cut off as a =
quick reaction but where somebody has the =
capacity to pay and refuses to do so the ability =
to disconnect water supply will remain with the =
local authority." [2] As you can see statements =
like this did little to clarify the matter for =
us.
We continued to apply political pressure. We held =
a picket outside the Democratic Left conference =
which was held in Liberty Hall. The Labour party =
conference in Limerick was picketed by a number =
of activists. Labour members continued to be smug =
as they passed our picket and they paid little =
attention to us but disliked the slogan "You =
didn't axe the double tax, now watch your vote =
collapse." On that picket we were joined by anti- water charge activists from Limerick and Galway.
Over the next couple of months nearly a hundred =
thousand leaflets were produced and distributed =
calling on people to maintain a non-payment =
policy and explaining the government's pathetic =
tax-free allowance scheme. It proposed that if =
you paid your water charge on time then you were =
entitled to claim a tax rebate at 27%. So if your =
tax was =A3150 you were entitled to a maximum =
rebate of =A340.50. In South County Dublin with the =
Water Charge at =A370 you were entitled to a =
maximum rebate of =A318.90. If you lived in Cavan =
you could claim back =A340.50, but you'd already =
paid =A3210 for your service charge.
A Law made to be Broken
On 31st March an announcement was made that the =
councils would have to bring people to court to =
obtain an order prior to being able to disconnect =
the water. This was what the newspeak word =
"delimit" meant in real terms. This was the major =
concession that was won by Democratic Left in =
their negotiations in government! A press =
conference was held by the campaign outlining a =
strategy for dealing with the threats of court =
action. All cases would be legally defended in =
Court but whatever the outcome, pickets and =
protests would ensure that nobody's water was =
disconnected.
A conference was held in the ATGWU hall in Dublin =
on May 13th. It was decided then that during the =
coming Summer the FDAWCC would launch a =
membership drive at =A32 per household to help fund =
the legal costs which would no doubt be incurred =
when the councils finally got around to =
summonsing people. For the moment they contented =
themselves with sending out more threatening =
letters. The rate of non-payment remained strong. =
Over =A323 million remained outstanding from 1994. =
Successful meetings were held in many areas with =
150 people showing up for one meeting in =
Tallaght.
Late into the summer final warning notices began =
to appear threatening court action. This was the =
final stage before the real summonses would =
appear. The membership campaign was growing quite =
rapidly and over 2,500 householders had =
contributed. The Amalgamated Transport and =
General Workers Union very kindly provided the =
campaign with an office. An All Dublin Activists =
Meeting was held in September with the campaign =
working on a three pronged attack of non-payment, =
defence of non-payers in court, and maximising =
political pressure. =
The first court cases were scheduled for =
Rathfarnham court on November 13th 1995. The =
activists made a large attendance at this case a =
priority and on the day over 500 people turned =
up. They voiced their support for those people =
fighting in court and made clear their opposition =
to the charges. There were people from all over =
Dublin, as well as from other cities and towns =
thoughout the country. Various union banners were =
present. People sang and were in good spirits as =
the judge decided to adjourn the cases to the =
next week.
We never expected justice in court. So the next =
week we returned to the court house. That day in =
Rathfarnham finished with a 500 strong march =
through the village after the judge threw the =
council's cases out of court. RTE (national =
broadcasting service) finally decided that the =
campaign warranted some coverage and the picket =
appeared on the afternoon news. Both Joe Higgins =
and Gregor Kerr were amongst some of the many =
people interviewed on the Gay Byrne morning radio =
show. After two years in existence the media =
finally began to take notice of us.
The local authorities continued to pursue people =
though the courts. The council had many legal =
representatives such as a solicitor, a barrister =
and sometimes a senior barrister, as well as =
various council officials. They pursued the cases =
tirelessly but the campaign's solicitors (F.H. =
O'Reilly & Co.) contested them on several =
grounds. Despite this some disconnections were =
ordered but the campaign's tactic of appealing =
these decisions to the circuit court ensured that =
no disconnections could take place. Larry Doran =
(a pensioner from the Greenhills area of south =
Dublin) made an eloquent speech from the dock of =
this courtroom in February 1996 when he =
highlighted the injustice of this state which =
grants tax amnesties to the rich while pursuing =
pensioners for water charges though the courts. =
He said "if the wealthy paid their due taxes, =
PAYE taxpayers would not be asked to pay double =
and I would not be before this court." The Judge =
ordered the court to be cleared after the =
cheering and clapping that Mr. Doran's speech =
received. Larry, with the support of his local =
campaign, decided not to appeal but instead =
challenged the council to come and try to cut his =
water off. A demonstration was organised outside =
his house to show the council who they would have =
to deal with if they attempted to cut Larry's =
water off. The council decided not to take Larry =
up on his challenge.
The Councils of Fingal and Dun Laoghaire / =
Rathdown brought people to court as well. All =
members of the campaign were represented. After 6 =
months of trials up to May 18th 1996, involving =
25 appearances by councils, only 25 disconnection =
orders were issued against campaign members. One =
judge in Swords even invoked the Public Order Act =
to deal with a protest outside his courthouse. As =
William Morris said back in 1887 "The ruling =
class seem to want people to use the streets only =
to go back and forth to work, making profits for =
them." In 1996 the judge was still not too keen =
on the idea of the streets being used for much =
else, especially protests.
Death & opportunity
When Brian Lenihan, the Fianna Fail TD for Dublin =
West died it became obvious that his seat would =
be contested and Councillor Joe Higgins was going =
to run for the vacant seat as a Militant Labour =
Candidate. Joe had always spoken strongly against =
the water charges and campaigned tirelessly =
against them. On 13th January an All Dublin =
Activists Meeting was held at which Joe sought =
the endorsement of the campaign for his candidacy =
in the forthcoming by-election.
Members of the WSM present at this meeting spoke =
strongly against this proposal. We said that we =
would much prefer to see the charge defeated by =
the working class organising on the streets to =
show their opposition. We believe that people =
have to seize back control over their own lives =
and this is not done by electing some official to =
fight your corner. Empowerment would come from =
defeating the combined forces of the state, the =
government, and the local authorities, by =
organising together and fighting against the =
imposition of this charge. Now that we were =
winning, we just had to keep on pushing forward =
with our demands to have this charge abolished. =
Electing Joe to sit in the D=E1il to argue our case =
was never going to be empowering. Joe would have =
been ignored just as on the local council his =
opposition to the charge was ignored. While our =
arguments were well received and considered, the =
decision of the meeting was to endorse Joe's =
candidacy.
In the end Councillor Joe Higgins nearly became =
Joe Higgins TD but for a few hundred votes. In =
the end however, Irish politics didn't vary from =
the mean and the son Brian Lenihan Junior was =
elected to the seat his father had died in.
The Federation of Dublin Anti Water Charges =
Campaigns held a conference in May of 1996. Many =
people were jubilant by the good showing of Joe =
Higgins in the Dublin West by-election. For many =
activists this was the most media coverage the =
campaign had received since its inception. But on =
the various prongs of attack we were doing well. =
Not one member had been disconnected despite the =
flurry of court activity and the huge resources =
spent by the councils chasing non-payers. The =
Campaign was still solvent and over 10,000 =
households had contributed =A32 each to it. We =
decided to continue to maximise political =
pressure and the majority of people were in =
favour of the campaign running a slate of =
candidates in the next general election in order =
to 'put the frighteners on the politicians.' Once =
again we argued against this tactic. The Campaign =
was already on winning ground. The courts =
couldn't operate. Resistance to payment was still =
very high with over 50% of the houses not paying. =
The Councils were heading into their third year =
of setting a rate that would not be paid by the =
majority of people in the area. When a campaign =
of working class resistance to this injustice is =
so strong the last thing you need to do is to =
elect more politicians whose voices will be lost =
, soon to be followed by their principles. Mass =
resistance had got the campaign into this winning =
position and mass resistance would be the murder =
weapon of the water charges.
In November and December of 1996 the Campaign =
increased the pressure on the local councillors. =
All sorts of incentive schemes had been =
introduced to try and make people pay this double =
tax and all of them had failed. The non-payment =
of water charges had increased and the =
councillors knew the imposition of this tax was =
becoming impossible. The prospect of a General =
Election in the Summer of 1997 had all the =
political parties running for cover. They were =
running scared in the face of the massive =
unpopularity of this form of local funding. The =
last turn of the screw came in the shape of Civil =
Process cases. In this instance the councils took =
people to a civil process court where they would =
try and get the judge to rule for them and where =
they would be entitled to seize assets to the =
value of the money owed. This new tactic, which =
they are continuing to persevere with, has met =
with as little success as the previous ones. =
Again, people turned up in their hundreds to =
defend their fellow citizens from this =
persecution, and a combination of court protests =
and legal defence continues to make life very =
difficult for the councils.
The water charges were effectively dead in the =
water (pun intended). They had become =
uncontrollable and largely uncollectable. Further =
demonstrations were held outside local council =
meetings where they tried to strike an estimate =
for the following year of how much they would =
seek from the people. A march was held in the =
city centre which attracted a good attendance. =
The message was to stand firm and we would =
definitely see victory. Protest phone calls =
bombarded the local councillors. Massive public =
meetings were held. 500 people attended such a =
meeting in Baldoyle in late November. Finally, on =
December 19th 1996 the Minister for the =
Environment announced that the Water Charge was =
going to be replaced by a new system whereby the =
road tax collected in each area would be the =
source for local council funding. Of course he =
neglected to mention that his hand was forced in =
this change of policy.
The working class people of Dublin had organised, =
rallied and won an important victory. Double =
taxation was over and this is due to the policy =
of mass resistance, organisation and direct =
action. The political establishment had once =
again thought they could exploit the working =
class for yet more money. But this time they had =
their noses bloodied. The fight is not over but =
the victory is certainly ours. In time to come we =
should remember this victory and how it was won =
because the politicians will not be long before =
they come up with a new method to exploit us =
while they leave the rich to get richer. We must =
remember that direct action and mass resistance =
destroyed their best laid plan this time and be =
ready to employ these tactics again when they =
unveil their new tricks.
Footnotes
1 The Brendan Smith affair brought about the =
collapse of this Government. The Attorney =
General's office took an exceedingly long time to =
get extradition papers prepared so that Father =
Brendan Smith could be extradited and prosecuted =
for child abuse. It led to the resignation of =
Albert Reynolds as Taoiseach and the formation of =
a new government (without an election).
2 Quote taken from minutes of the D=E1il as =
Minister Howlin answered a question.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Anarchist News and Views http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2724/anpubdx.html
Irish anarchist email list send the message subscribe anarchy-ireland to anarchy-ireland-request@unamerican.com
****** A-Infos News Service ***** News about and of interest to anarchists
Subscribe -> email MAJORDOMO@TAO.CA with the message SUBSCRIBE A-INFOS Info -> http://www.tao.ca/ainfos/ Reproduce -> please include this section