This article is from page 18 of the 2012-02-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
ORGANISERS of a public meeting in Ennis at the weekend are hoping to tap into mounting public anger at new taxes and cutbacks to services.
Members of the public are being invited to attend ‘Organising Resistance – Fighting Against Injustice And Inequality’, which takes place upstairs in Brogan’s Bar, Ennis, on Saturday, February 18, 2pm.
Kieran Allen of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) and the United Left Alliance (ULA) will give a talk on organising protests and activism.
Opposition to the new household charge will be among the topics up for discussion, according to one of the event’s organisers, Brían Ó Cualáin.
Brían, a member of the SWP, explained, “There is a push on against the household charge. And we’re hoping this meeting will give people an incentive to come out and hopefully inspire them to get involved.
“It’s not necessarily just about the household charge. We want people to talk about the issues that are affecting them in their community. That could be cutbacks to education, a lack of facilities for young people.”
He believes more and more people are looking for a way to express their anger at a time of economic uncertainty.
He said, “It is definitely building. There is an appetite there and people are looking for ways to express their anger and change the agenda for the little people, the people who are on the margins.
“This is affecting us all. Hopefully it will help create a bit of movement and we can capitalise on that movement and anger.”
The meeting is the latest in a series held in recent weeks around the county aimed at encouraging greater protest and activism.
Brían explained, “There were around 250 people at the Old Ground Hotel for a meeting on the household charge.
“There was a meeting in Kilmihil where around 80 people attended. We had about 80 at a meeting in Shannon and there were 50 or 60 at a meeting in Scariff.”
Organisers say that the reduction in the registration fee for septic tanks following a nationwide storm of protest offers a good example of the power of grassroots activism.
However, Brían says that one of the purposes of Saturday’s meeting is to encourage people to continue to hold the government of the day to account.
Pointing to the ongoing campaign for the retention of services at En nis General Hospital, Brían says, “We know that whatever government gets back into power down the road, they will roll back on a lot of promises.”
Originally from Inis Oirr, where he was involved with the island’s cooperative movement, Brían moved to Ennis 15 years ago.
He says, “I just feel that things have got to such a stage that I’m worried about my own kids’ futures.”
Opposition to the household charge and a new regime of septic tank inspection has been the focus of intense debate at meetings of Clare County Council in recent months. Last month, members met for a special meeting called in response to concerns expressed over the implications of the scheme for homeowners.
At the meeting a senior member of Clare County Council and former Dáil TD, Cllr James Breen (Ind) called for the people of Clare to engage in a period of “civil disobedience”. Around 300 people attended a public information meeting held in Ennis just before Christmas about new septic tank charges.