These are articles on Community Struggles that were published on our old web site prior to 2006 and which may not be on this new site yet. It does not include articles published from 2006 on - to see these click on Community under categories in the left hand box.

 

 

Rossport

Popular Response to Shell's Pipeline Shows Way Forward
Over the Summer of 2005 in a small corner of Mayo a mass campaign of non-violent direct action systematically, and in part spontaneously, shut down a major development being carried out by several multi-national corporations and the state.

People Power Confronts Shell
The jailing of 5 Rossport men for refusing to allow Shell to install a potentially lethal pipeline has suddenly focussed attention on the whole project. But it has done more than highlight safety issues. It has highlighted the cosy relationship between business and the Irish State.

Water tax in the north

Water Tax
They want to take more money away from us. The British government plans to impose a water charge averaging £340 a year in Northern Ireland. That's for 2006, and we can be sure it will rise every year.

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The campaigns against the Bin charges

Articles about the resistance to the introduction of refuse charges in Ireland. The articles chiefly concern Dublin and Cork.

The overwhelming majority of waste produced in this country is produced by industry, big business and large-scale agriculture while only a small fraction is produced by domestic householders. The refuse charge is an attempt to shift the burden of paying for the waste produced by big business on to the ordinary worker. It will punishes those who pay most tax and produce least waste instead of taxing those who pay least tax and produce most waste.

 

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Chronological reports from the frontline Anti-Bin Charges March in Cork About 300 people marched on Saturday afternoon in protest at the ongoing stand-off over the bin tax and the non-collection of domestic rubbish in Cork City. Resistance Pays ... Cork Anti-Bins Figures released by Cork City Council confirm that the non-payment of bin charges remains very high despite the Council's bullying tactics Wages Up 23%! (of course not - only the bin-tax jumps up like that) The anti-bin tax campaign fought a long, hard struggle in 2003 involving pickets, blockades in estates and outside depots. Small bin tax victory in Dun Laoghaire Every Wednesday morning I arise at 7 am. Our mission to make sure that every bin on the Granville Road, Doonsalla, Watsons road is lifted whether they have paid some, all or no bin tax. Bin Tax - what has been going on The campaign against the bin-tax in Dublin has seen an upsurge of community resistance to the government Government announces new 'turd tax' Minister for the environment Martin Cullen today announced a new tax on visits to the toilet, which has already been dubbed the 'turd tax'. Cork Against the Bin Tax The campaign in Cork and contact detials for anarchists active in the campaign in Dublin Anti-bin tax meetings in Cork About fifty people gathered in Mayfield GAA club in the first of a series of meetings re launching the campaign against the refuse charges in Cork city. The meeting was addressed by Paddy Mulcahy and Ted Tynan both jailed in 1991 for non-payment Cabra marches on Mountjoy Over 500 people assembled in Cabra outside the Bingo hall and marched down the New Cabra Road towards Mountjoy prison where there is still ten brave anti-bin tax protesters incarcerated. Day of action brings bin trucks to a halt This morning saw a day of action across Dublin against the bin tax. At depot after depot activists from the campaign turned up in the early hours of the morning to stop the bin trucks leaving. This act of defiance is our answer to the continued jailing of activists by the high court. Another bin tax march on Mountjoy jail Saturday saw the second major march on Mountjoy jail of the bin tax protests. As many as 3,000 took part in this one, most marching out from Parnell square with a couple of hundred marching down from Cabra to meet them at the jail 10 jailed, hundreds protest at Mountjoy Last night at very short notice over 300 people protested outside Mountjoy jail. On Saturday a Dublin Council of Trade Unions march will leave Parnell Square around midday to march on Mountjoy jail. Blockades and lobbies of Dublin city bin truck depots There were blockades on two of the four Dublin city depots this morning and a lobby of the Rathmines depot. This is to mark the High Court case this morning when 24 protesters from the city are being dragged into the courts for breaking the councils injunction against blockading trucks. Grange Gorman blockade successful Last nights blockade of the Grange Gorman bin truck depot was a success with no truck managing to leave during the three-hour blockade. These were the trucks that were to do the rubbish pick-up in the shopping areas of the city centre. Dail protest, blockades and the bin tax campaign The opening of the Dail on Tuesday 30 September after the long, long holidays the TD's get saw a somewhat disappointing bin tax protest on the streets outside Monster meeting in Ballybrack + report from Dundrum There was an excellent turn out for the meeting last night at Ballybrack workmans club &endash; 100-120 people Second successful solidarity blockade in Stoneybatter A crowd of about 25 people had assembled by 8:30, ready to take part in the blockade. We moved off into Drumalee to await the truck and our numbers grew as several residents came out to join us. Report from High court bin tax hearing Judge refuses city council's application for blanket injunction Bin tax and Reclaim the Streets protests link up in Dublin [with pics] Monday evening in Dublin saw a Reclaim the Streets demonstration joining up with an anti-bin tax march demanding the release of two imprisoned activists Anti bin tax protest in Ringsend This morning the council announced that they would begin implementing non-collection of bins in the Ringsend area of the city. Anti-bin tax activists mobilised to blockade the trucks to force them to collect all the bins. Massive anti-bin tax meeting in Cabra The decision to flex the muscle of the campaign by this action was taken on Monday night at a meeting in Cabra. The massive meeting of between 500 to 600 people took place in St. Finbarr's GAA Club. Cabra activists blockade bin truck [with pics] All bins are still being collected in Cabra (and the Dublin city area) but we felt it was important to send a message of solidarity to Fingal activists and also send a warning to the council that we were prepared for them. Successful first bin truck blockade in Stoneybatter [with pics] The anti-bin tax campaign in Stoneybatter took its first action today when it blockaded a bin truck just off the Oxmantown road. The truck was blockaded for one hour as a solidarity gesture with the campaign in Fingal. Report on Bin charges meeting Kingstown Hotel Dun Laoghaire Numbers and caution disappointing &endash; hopefully more resolve at local meetings Bin tax protesters in Cabra blockade two trucks [with pics] As Fingal council took a High Court case against bin tax protesters this morning bin tax campaigners in Cabra blockaded two trucks in solidarity with Fingal campaigners. Our intention is to hold onto at least one of these two trucks all day. Bin tax protesters lobby at depots Yesterday Fingal council attempted to start refusing to collect the bins of those who not paying the bin tax. This morning the campaign in the Dublin city area swung into action. Our first move was a lobby of the depots that the trucks leave from each morning Bin tax - the WAR has begun After being beaten on every front and with non-payment still remaining very high, Fingal council became the first one to try and implement their new tactic of non-collection of the rubbish. This morning there are eight different trucks which are blockaded into various estates in the north Dublin area known as Fingal Irish Glass Bottle workers occupation Workers at the Irish Glass Bottle plant in Ringsend have been in occupation of the plant for the last couple of months. The plant is closing, making some 375 workers redundant.

Understanding the Issues Class, Ecology and the bin tax As long as we live in a world ruled by a small elite that not only has the wealth to escape from environmental degradation but actually makes a bigger profit by not doing anything about it the 'environmental problem' will never be solved Sunday Independent claims anarchists are 'infiltrating' bin tax campaign The mouthpiece of millionaire Tony O'Reilly, the Sunday Independent, got terribly excited when it 'discovered' there were anarchists involved in the bin tax campaign Service Charges Taking from the poor to give to the rich One of the main reasons that we are fighting against the bin tax is because it is another attempt to transfer wealth from workers to the rich Anarchists, the bin tax & direct action There are many political groups and individuals involved in the campaign against the bin tax. Many of them see the campaign as little more than a way of getting votes in the local elections of June 2004. The Bin Tax & Privatisation It is no secret that the government wants to privatise the bin service in Dublin. The service has already been privatised in thirty-seven Local Authorities around the country Cullen is a liar Minister for the Environment, Martin Cullen claims that bin charges are necessary to deal with the waste crisis in this country 1 (no) law for the rich The last months in Dublin have seen the jailing of ordinary working class people for protesting against the bin tax. A tax whose introduction was not only opposed by most people but which tens of thousands are refusing to pay. David Begg: Bertie's new partner ICTU general secretary David Begg condemned the anti-bin tax campaign. He did this at the same time that the state was jailing protesters and refusing to collect rubbish from thousands of households in Dublin. Not Just Dublin The media has tried to attempt this as being about Dublin v the rest of the country. So how come anti-bin charge activists were being jailed in Cork back in May 2001. There are also active campaigns elsewhere in the country, including Drogheda Bin the Bin Tax!! (WS60) Double taxation has returned to the Dublin area, with a £150 refuse charge introduced by Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council and talk among councillors on Dublin Corporation of the introduction of a charge there too. The service charge con Taking from workers to give to the rich The 'polluter pays' & the bin tax (WS61) The attempt to introduce refuse charges by the Dublin area county councils has been welcomed in some quarters. It is, we are told, necessary to fund a local waste management policy, that will increase the amount of waste recycled, and reduce the amount of landfill needed. Anti-Bin Tax = tax dodger? The politicians the big farmers and the bosses don't hold back when it comes to defending their interests. We should do the same, and no better way to start than by telling them to stuff their bin tax. The WTO and GATS According to the WTO, the GATS agreements cover 160 services' sector. What few people realised when the deal was first done is that the GATS also includes healthcare, education, housing, water, waste management and other basic services usually run by government agencies. Blockade the trucks - Don't fall for council scams As we go to print, the bin charges battle has started in earnest in Dublin with Fingal Council's attempt not to collect non-payer's bins. Water tax in Northern Ireland Northern Irish homes are to be subjected to a tax on water, unless enough of us get together to stop the government's plan. Organising for Change Just as combining against the bin tax or against the war makes us stronger so too does combining in political organisations. Bin Charges - a strategy to win by Gregor Kerr, the former Secretary, Federation of Dublin Anti Water Charge Campaigns The key tactic which guaranteed success in the anti-water charge campaign was the refusal to pay. In the initial stages of the campaign, activists in local communities went from door-to-door encouraging their neighbours to join the boycott campaign Our TAX Money - Will we get a receipt? (WS56) What the Flood and McCracken and Moriarty Tribunals have revealed that politicians and business people regularly exchange massive sums of money without the slightest regard to taxation. Over 85% of tax on income is paid by PAYE workers The Bin Tax - The Race for Office Whilst I can understand the will of people to 'make the politicians pay' for their treachery in bringing in this tax for a public service - we don't agree with this tactic. The way this tax is going to be defeated is by building a massive campaign. Direct Action and fighting to win Anarchists are not particularly interested in protesting against the evils of the world - we would prefer to abolish them! Direct Action is next step for the Anti-Bin Tax campaign We must send out the message that we intend for every truck to pick up all the rubbish on their bin run. The Council must understand this, and the government must understand it. If non-collection is attempted, trucks will be blockaded into our estates until everyone's bin is emptied. Sinn Fein and Labour help to introduce Dublin bin charges Dublin City Council (Dublin Corporation) voted to introduce charges for refuse collection. The bin tax has arrived in the one local authority area which did not even try to levy a water charge a few years ago. The excuse used by some politicians was that the council had been threatened with dissolution had it not introduced the charges.

 

 

 

 

 

REVIEW : www.StopTheBinTax.com
Anybody curious about the arguments against the introduction of bin charges into Ireland, please familiarise yourself with www.StopTheBinTax.com

 

 Older News reports

March 2003 - Bin Tax Battle Enters New Phase
The campaign against the bin tax is set to enter a new phase before the summer as the government brings forward new legislation to give the Councils the power to refuse to collect the bins of non-payers

Feb 2003 - The Anti-Bin Tax - keep connecting with the punches
Despite the fact that the Dublin City Council effectively has it's hands tied they could not let the Christmas pass without trying to frighten people into paying their precious double-tax.

Sept 2002 - The anti-bin tax battles
According to the council's own figures less then 50% of people paid any part of their bill last year. With the growing success of non-payment only around 20% have paid something so far this year

Sept 2 2002 - Bin tax picket of Dublin corporation meetings [with photos]
First summons and another picket of the Dublin corporation council meeting

Drogheda ain't paying
Less than 50% of Drogheda residents have paid any of the yearly 260 Euro charge

Feb 12 2002 - Bin tax : Council sends out threatening letters
Dublin city council have been sending threatening letters to people who are refusing to pay the bin tax. A WSM member who is on the co-ordinating committee explains below what the campaigns plans are and how to deal with the letter.

Jan 2002 Bin Tax Victory - Court orders Corpo to collect non-payers' bins
After a marathon protest and despite the jailing of seven activists from our campaign, Cork Corpo's strategy of bullying the people of the city into paying twice to have their domestic rubbish collected, ended in disarray.

Nov 14th Major Victory In Cork Anti-Bin Campaign
Our campaign against the bin charges here in Cork received a massive boost late last week with an unexpected court victory - Cork Corporation is legally and socially bound to collect household rubbish and is not entitled to refuse to collect such rubbish on the grounds of unpaid bin tax.

Oct 1st - Bin tax struggle in Dublin [with pictures]
On Thursday the 27th all the local county councillors were invited to a meeting in the Liberties to explain their position on the bin tax. On October the 1st the campaign picketed the corporations meeting at which motions to abolish the tax were meant to have been discussed.

Sept 22nd - A tale of 2 meetings
A report on two anti bin charges meetings in Dublin, one organised by Eric Byrne and the other the 2nd AGM of the Dun Laoghaire campaign

September 17th - Delegates from local anti Bin tax groups meet in Dublin
Monday night saw the first real activists meeting of the Dublin Corporation area anti Bin Tax campaign. Attendance was better then expected, there with reports from over 12 areas.

WS 66 September/October - Council's Bin Tax Rubbished
The Dublin Campaign against the Bin Tax is entering a crucial phase. Meetings calling for a mass campaign of non-payment have been held in various areas throughout the city.

August 30th - Cork Corporation has escalated its campaign in the anti-bin tax protest
Mick Barry is the sixth member of Householders Against The Service Charges (HASC) to be jailed in the current protest.

August 20th - Another member of Householders Against the Service Charges jailed in Cork
He is being held in Cork Prison having been sentenced to serve 5 days in jail for not paying a £70 fine under the Litter Act

WS65 July/August- Bin Tax: We are winning
Reports from the campaign in the Liberties and Walkinstown

WS65 July/August- Bin Tax: Building for the future
Dermot Sreenan who is on the ad-hoc co-ordination committee for the Corporation area looks ahead to the sort of victory we need.

WS65 July/August- Anti-Bin Tax protestors jailed in Cork
In June 2001 James McBarron along with two other bin tax protesters was jailed in Cork. We asked him to write about his experiences

 

 

 

June 26th - Another Cork bin tax protester jailed
Sandra Condon, a member of Householders Against The Service Charges, was arrested this morning at her home in north Cork City on foot of her conviction for 'bogus' littering offences in connection with the ongoing campaign against rubbish collect charges in Cork city.

June 15th - Bin charges meeting in Harolds Cross
Last night saw the first meeting of the anti-bin charges campaign to be held in the Harolds Cross area. Sitting at the back of the room was a guy from the Dublin Corporation

June 11th - Bin charges protest at Dublin Corporation meeting [with pictures]
A respectable crowd of in or around 50 people mustered for this demonstration which was good considering that the first round of bills have yet to drop over most of the city

June 6th - Campaign Against the Bin Tax grows in Dublin Corporation
The following reports are from three anarchists involved in the Campaign Against the Bin Tax in the Dublin Corporation area. Over the last couple of weeks many local meetings have been held and next week there will be a protest at City Hall.

May 31st - Council Bug Bins
Recently information has come to light that Dun Laoghaire - Rathdown Council have begun to put micro chips in Wheelie bins.

May 18th - Cork service charge activists released [with photos]
The jailings have been a PR disaster for Cork Corporation and have brought unprecedented attention to our campaign against the Bin Tax. The Campaign is set to escalate even further next week, when another member of HASC, Sandra Condon, will be jailed

May 16th - Email Campaign against service charge jailings in Cork [with photo]
Cork Corporation has today jailed three activists with Householders Against The Service Charges (HASC) - Joe Moore, James McBarron and Mick Joyce

May 15th - Stop the jailings of Householders Against Service Charges activists in Cork
Joe Moore, James McBarron and Michael Joyce, all members of the Householders Against Service Charges (HASC) in Cork (Ireland) are all facing imminent imprisonment as part of the ongoing and defiant protest against the imposition of the Bin Tax on Cork workers

WS64 May/June - The fight against the Bin Charges
In March 2001 the first of a second round of bin charges hit homes all over the Dún Laoghaire - Rathdown area. Though the charges have not yet been beaten, the campaign here is in a very strong position. Already campaigners are becoming active throughout the Corporation area and the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire campaigns are building links

March 8th 2001- Stop the jailings protest

On Feb 15th, two members of Householders Against Service Charges (HASC), were fined £95 and £75 by the Cork Circuit Court under the Litter Act. They were ordered to pay the fined within 28 days or face imprisonment of 3 days at Cork Prison. Both activists, as part of the ongoing campaign against the 'Bin Charges', have pledged not to pay the fines.

Feb 2001 - Bin Campaign Set To Escalate In Cork
Cork Corpo. plans to jail bin charges activists it has fined under the Litter Act

Feb 2001 - Dublin Bin charges - Liars and Cheats
The vote to implement bin charges in Dublin Corporation in mid-January once again proved what a bunch of liars and cheats politicians are - no matter what party they come from

Jan 2001 - Sinn Fein and Labour help to introduce Dublin bin charges
Dublin City Council (Dublin Corporation) voted to introduce charges for refuse collection. The bin tax has arrived in the one local authority area which did not even try to levy a water charge a few years ago. The excuse used by some politicians was that the council had been threatened with dissolution had it not introduced the charges.

WS62 - Jan/Feb 2001 - Bin charges struggle continues
Reports from the struggle against the bin charges in Dublin and Cork. Cork Corporation has found a new target in their fight to impose bin charges in Cork... the old and the disabled. In Dub Laoghaire over 50% of people haven't paid one or both installments of this year's charge

November 21st - Dún Laoghaire protests against Bin charges
This was a determined crowd, no way would they be paying twice (PAYE/VAT and now the proposed local charges) for their bin collection service. "No way - we won't pay" was certainly the most popular slogan.
by Alan

Council on the run over bin bill (WS61)
Resistance to the introduction of Bin charges in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown

and Cork (WS61)
Rubbish dumping outside the City Hall has become a regular feature of the campaign against the bin-charges in Cork city

Bin the Bin Tax!! (WS60)
Double taxation has returned to the Dublin area, with a £150 refuse charge introduced by Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council and talk among councillors on Dublin Corporation of the introduction of a charge there too.

 

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Community organising and the Dublin drugs (heroin) crisis

 

Heroin has killed hundreds of young people in Dublin since the 1980's. It has hit the poorest working class communities. These communities have organised a number of anti - drug campaigns in response to this crisis.

 

 

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Legalise it
The legaisation of Cannabis is now being debated openly by sections of the European ruling class.

 

The heroin menace
Dublin is experiencing a heroin epidemic similar to the in the late 1970s. That epidemic left hundreds of young people hooked on heroin and dozens of them have since died of AIDS and AIDS related diseases. Some big criminals made fortunes out of it

Bans or legalisation?
SINCE THE DAYS of Concerned Parents Against Drugs (CPAD), the growth of the heroin problem in inner-city Dublin has largely gone without comment. In the last few months, two factors have pushed it back into the spotlight - the government's declaration of a 'War on Drugs', and the emergence of the city-wide campaign against heroin which has been set up by Inner City Organisations Network.

Direct Action Against Drugs: Murder & Thuggery
}MEN SHOT DEAD, many more beaten up. Attacks in Armagh, Belfast, Derry, Dublin, Dundalk and Kerry. In most cases the reason given was that the people being punished were ecstasy dealers. The murders in the six counties were claimed by Direct Action Against Drugs.

Drug Crisis: Dublin Communities Organise
The heroin epidemic in Dublin is causing major problems for addicts and for the communities where they live. Oddly enough you would not get any inkling of this crisis from the bourgeois press. That is because the epidemic and its effects are confined to the inner city and the working class suburbs like Ballymun, Tallaght, Clondalkin and Blanchardstown.

Communities stand up to the heroin barons
Dublin is experiencing a very serious heroin epidemic with an estimated 8,000-9,000 heroin addicts. Heroin addiction is closely related to disadvantage and poverty. The anti-heroin movement has brought thousands of people to meetings and onto the streets in Dublin's working class communities

The Drugs Debate
We continue the discussion about the heroin crisis, this time with two readers' letters. Your views are welcome.

Pushers Out: Poverty Out too
The Heroin crisis continues in Dublin, we examine how it is rooted in poverty

Crime and community policing
The term 'community policing' has been much abused in recent times, most particularly in the North of Ireland where it has become shorthand for vicious punishment beatings and shootings. In this article Gregor Kerr takes a look at the issue of community policing - what it is and more importantly what it isn't. The question of what levels of real community policing would actually be possible or allowed under capitalism is looked at, and the debate about crime, anti-social behaviour and reactions to it in an anarchist society is touched on.

Pushers Out! - The inside story of Dublin's anti-drugs movement
Pushers Out tells the story of how people living in the North Inner City and the South Inner City organised to save their communities from heroin. Not relying on the state to solve their problems, they started to organise themselves. One such working class organisation is Coalition of Communities Against Drugs (COCAD) A review of the book by by Andre Lyder

Related articles

Crime, Criminals, Punishment an anarchist view
Kropotkin came up with three types of crime. Property related crime, government related crime and crimes against the person. In Britain it has been estimated that 94% of crime is committed against property. However what isn't recorded are those crimes committed for property.

Incorporation...the spoonful of sugar
Why is it that many single issue campaigns and community groups which start out with a radical program soon end up as little more than service groups? Conor Mc Loughlin, an activist of the now defunct Portobello Unemployed Action Group investigates.

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The fight against the Water Charges

In Ireland PAYE workers pay almost all the tax and so pay for all the state services. The rich and large companies pay very little tax. In the early 1990's the state tried to increase the tax burden on workers by introducing local service charges. This is the story of how one such charge, the Water Charge was defeated in Dublin.

Winning the Water War [A detailed overview of campaign]
In 1996 the domestic water charge was abolished. In 'Winning the Water War', Dermot Sreenan, an activist in the Federation of Dublin Anti-Water Charges Campaigns examines the campaign and the demonstration of people power that brought about the downfall of this charge. [ Print out and distribute A PDF file of this article]

Articles published during the campaign in chronological order

Lets wreck Irelands poll tax [Spring 1994]
January 1st saw County Dublin divided into three new County Council areas. Residents of all three new Councils now face the imposition of annual service charges of at least £85-£90.

Prepare to Sink the service charges [Summer 1994]
Conor Mc Loughlin examines a new book on how the Poll Tax was beaten in the UK.

Anti-Water charges campaign gets off ground [Autumn 1994]
Considerable progress has already been made in laying the foundations for a campaign against the service charges.

Reasons to bin the bill [Autumn 1994]

Disconnection threats defeated in Dublin [Spring 1995]
At 4 am on Wednesday December 6th the first attempts to disconnect water were made. Water inspectors who arrived in estates in Clondalkin, Lucan and Tallaght found, however, that campaign activists were well-organised and that mobile patrols were in place to prevent disconnections.

Perks Before People, DL Endorse Water Cut-Offs [Summer 1995]
The formation of the "Rainbow Coalition" in December led to a number of promises of change in the double taxation service charges which have been vigorously opposed by residents' and community groups throughout the state since their inception.

Have I got news for you? [Autumn 1995]
Why is there biased coverage of the campaign? It costs a fortune own a newspaper or TV company. Anybody who does so is a millionaire. Media moguls are in the same league as the rest of the rich. They hang about in the same clubs, they buy racehorses from each other and, more importantly, they have similar economic interests.

New threat of cut-offs [Autumn 1995]
Householders in Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown and Fingal got letters threatening them with instant court action if they didn't pay up without delay. This scare tactic was intended to frighten people into paying. It didn't work.

Anarchist News No. 4 [Autumn 1995]
focuses on the Anti-Water Charges Campaign and explains how it can be won, what anarchists are involved in it, how politicians have lied on this issue and how the tax system makes workers pay for the bosses.

Stuff the Water charges [Spring 1996]
1995 WILL BE seen as the beginning of the end for the hated double taxation water charges in Dublin and throughout the country. For the first time in almost a decade, the year closed without a single water disconnection for non-payment in the entire country.

Anarchist News No. 8 [ April 1996]
discusses what direction the anti-Water Charges campaign should take after the local elections

Anarchist News No. 7 [March 1996]
focuses on the Anti-Water Charges Campaign and the local elections. It has a report of the EZLN calling an 'International Conference for Humanity and Against Neo-Liberalism' at the end of July in Chiapas. These are brought together in a piece urging people to come to a public discussion on Anarchism and Grassroots Movements.

Anarchist News No. 5 [January 1996]
focuses on the Anti-Water Charges Campaign (this time arguing for mass action)

For Starters [Summer 1996]
As well as announcing some new publications we underline our opposition to the anti-Water Charges Campaign standing candidates in elections

Water Charges [Summer 1996]
Laurence Doran a retired worker has thrown down the gauntlet to the council by refusing to defend himself and court and daring them to cut off his water.

14,000 Join anti-water charges campaign [Autumn 1996]
The anti-water charges campaign is heading for victory with 14,000 paid up members and 83% of households behind in paying the bills or having paid none at all.

Anarchist News No. 12 [December 1996]
Government leaks have indicated that the water charges are to be abolished. For the victory demonstration we say The Water Charges: Our Victory Their Defeat but in response to the attempts of the Socialist Party to lead the campaigns activists down an electoral cul-de-sac we say You can beat them or join them

Anarchist News No. 11 [November 1996]
Calls for a No vote in the Bail Referendum and celebrates the fact that Victory is near in the Anti-Water Charges campaign.

Water Charges Victory [Spring 1997]
Gregor Kerr, Secretary of the Federation of Dublin Anti-Water Charge Campaigns reports on the defeat of the state by a mass non-payment campaign which stood up to bribes, threats and intimidation

Anarchist News 13 [January 1997]
Its offical, we have won and the governemnt has been forced to abolish the water charges due to mass non-payment. Victory is ours . But the victory in the anti-water charges campaign is just one step forward, now its time to change the world!

 

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Position papers

The Anti-Water Charges Campaign