by Alan Jacques
A MAJOR anti-water charges protest will take place in Limerick this Saturday, April 11, just days after the delivery of the first tranche of water bills.
Starting at 2pm from City Hall, the ‘We Won’t Pay’ march will be followed by a rally to be addressed by Socialist TD Paul Murphy in St John’s Pavilion on Upper William Street.
Limerick Anti Austerity Alliance councillor Cian Prendiville, one of the organisers of the march, believes it is a crucial opportunity for people to show that opposition to the charges hasn’t gone away.
“We need a large turnout this Saturday to send a message to the government, and also to those they are trying to bully into paying these bills. If the government think they have pulled the wool over our eyes through their ‘introductory offer’, they have another thing coming,” he said.
Deputy Murphy commented, “Mass non-payment of the water charges can defeat the government and their attempts at intimidation. There are no penalties for non-payment for 15 months. We will have had a general election by then – if we have established mass non-payment as a fact with 40-50 per cent non-payment it will be the key issue of the election.
“It will put so much pressure on all the parties that any government elected will have no choice but to abolish the charge. We nee a strong turnout on Saturday to get that message out, and give people the confidence to hold out,” he added.
