4 articles

From WS 45 (1995)
Perks Before People, DL Endorse Water Cut-Offs

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.

Legislation was promised to "delimit" the power of 
County Councils to disconnect water supply for non-
payment of charges.  Within hours of the 
government's formation, newly-appointed Minister of 
State Pat Rabbitte of Democratic Left was on RTE 
television pledging that "there will be no more 
disconnections" (or words to that effect).  
Rabbitte's statement came at a particularly emotive 
time.  The previous three weeks had seen a massive 
campaign where the power of local residents' groups 
and the Federation of Dublin Anti-Water Charge 
Campaigns had combined to defeat attempts by South 
Dublin County Council to disconnect non-payers' 
water supply.

*************   Empty promise *************

As we go to press however (early April) - over 
three months into the government's life - the 
government has just announced its proposed 
legislation and it is clear that the pledges in the 
Programme for Government represented no more than 
the usual empty political promises. The 
"delimiting" of the Councils' power to disconnect 
water simply means that Council officials will have 
to get a court order to allow them to do so.  For 
Democratic Left this involves a total capitulation.  

Having made the abolition of service charges one of 
their main demands on entering the negotiations to 
form a government and having met with stiff 
resistance to this from both Labour and Fine Gael, 
they opted for the social democrats' usual response 
in sticky situations - fudge it, come up with a 
formulation of words likely to keep everyone happy 
for the time being.  Thus the demand for complete 
abolition of the charges was quietly shelved, 
attention was focussed on disconnections and the 
word "delimit" made its appearance.  To DL it meant 
that disconnections were finished.  However to 
Labour and Fine Gael (and according to the 
dictionary) the meaning was somewhat different 
(DELIMIT: to fix or mark the limit of  - Chambers's 
20th Century Dictionary).

It didn't take long for the County Managers to spot 
the loophole.  With Councils throughout the State 
experiencing a dramatic fall-off in revenue as PAYE 
taxpayers took Pat Rabbitte at his word and joined 
the non-payment campaign (e.g. Meath County 
Council's income from charges fell from £122,000 in 
January 1994 to £79,000 in January 1995) Council 
officials launched an intensive lobby on government 
ministers to maintain the right to disconnect.

Far from sweet

As reports emerged that the issue of water charges 
and disconnections had led to several rows among 
cabinet ministers and crisis meetings between the 
leaders of the three government parties, it began 
to appear that the fudge was far from sweet. And 
when the legislation was finally announced - just 
days before DL's Annual Delegate Conference - the 
capitulation was complete.  A party which had 
started out from a position of complete opposition 
to service charges had endorsed the right of 
Councils to disconnect water supply to non-payers - 
provided they got a court order first!  

The argument put forward - even by some DL 
activists who had been involved in the fight 
against service charges is that they are 'only a 
small party', that the issue would not even be on 
the agenda but for them and - of course - that it 
is 'a step in the right direction'.  They should 
try telling that to the 900 people who had their 
supply cut-off last year or to the hundreds now 
likely to face court summonses.  And while the DL 
Conference did pass an amended motion criticising 
the government for failing to call service charges 
double taxation, they overwhelmingly rejected a 
motion condemning the party leadership for not 
gaining a government commitment to abolish the 
charges.

The lesson for anti-service charge campaigners - 
and indeed for all members of the working class - 
should be clear.  Trust no-one but yourselves, the 
only way to victory is through solidarity action 
and through a continuation and intensification of 
the campaign.  Those who claim to use 
"parliamentary democracy" to achieve change will 
eventually compromise and fudge - usually in the 
cause of something called "the national interest".

We're not paying

County Councils in Dublin and elsewhere know that 
the vast majority of people are not going to pay 
these charges in 1995 just as they refused to pay 
them in 1994.  They also know that the threat of 
disconnections or court action doesn't worry us.  
When they tried their intimidatory tactics before, 
they were sent packing.  Anti-service charge 
campaigners should now have but one message for 
those who would attempt to fudge the issue - stop 
trying to fool us, we know that your mercs and 
perks are more important to you than your 
principles (if you have any left).

Continue the campaign

The Federation of Dublin Anti-Water Charge 
Campaigns has outlined a strategy to render the new 
regulations on disconnections unworkable.  This 
strategy will include

*Every court case must be contested

*No householder will be isolated and there will be 
a coordinated approach to all court hearings

*Legal advice and representation will be arranged 

*In the event of disconnection being ordered, this 
will be resisted by peaceful protest

*Where water is disconnected, reconnection will be 
arranged

*Appeals will be made to local authority workers 
and their trade unions to continue to refuse to co-
operate with disconnections

*********************************************************

    **  Water charge campaigners ready for action  **

NEW THREAT OF CUT-OFFS
DO YOU REMEMBER Democratic LeftÕs election promises?  The 
party who contested the last election on an anti-service 
charges platform have convinced their Fine Gael and Labour 
partners to drag non-payers through the courts instead of 
immediately cutting off their water.  Hooray!  Like all 
professional politicians, DL see no reason to stand by their 
election promises.  According to their way of doing things, 
voters are merely sheep who can be told anything to get 
their votes and then promptly forgotten about.
Before the Act was even passed householders in Dœn 
Laoghaire/Rathdown and Fingal got letters threatening them 
with instant court action if they didnÕt pay up without 
delay.  This scare tactic was intended to frighten people 
into paying.  It didnÕt work.  60% (70,000 households) are 
refusing to pay in the three Dublin county areas.  
Under the legislation two further letters have to be 
sent, with at least two weeks between them.  The third one 
has to be delivered either by hand or by recorded post.  
Only then can the county manager seek a court date.  It 
looks like September may see the start of court cases, South 
Dublin Council having already sent out the first two letters 
to non-payers.  
The Federation of Dublin Anti-Water Charge Campaigns is 
ready for action.  Local meetings have been held throughout 
the three Dublin council areas, some attracting over 100 
people.  If enough people stick together we can follow the 
hot summer with a hotter autumn.  The courts canÕt defeat us 
if we stay united, and we have already shown that the 
Federation can turn disconnections into reconnections within 
hours.
Keep up the refusal to pay, get more information, 
contact the campaign at 494 7025 (Gregor Kerr) or 820 1753 
(Joe Higgins).

NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Anti-Charges campaigners from Cork, Limerick, Dundalk, 
Galway, Offaly, Monaghan and the three Dublin council areas 
met in May.  Over 80 activists shared information and 
reaffirmed their intention to resist double taxation, 
whether it be called Ôservice chargesÕ, ÔratesÕ, or 
Ôcommunity development chargesÕ.  
One particularly petty response to the campaign was 
reported from Limerick where the County Council is now 
charging people for waiver application forms.  Waivers are 
supposed to be for people who cannot afford to pay the 
charges!  Hopefully householders in the county area will 
take a lesson from the those in the Corporation area whose 
campaigning led to the abolition of service charges back in 
1991.  The Corporation had employed contractors to wreck 
water pipes leading into the homes of 140 non-payers on a 
Friday afternoon, the local campaign had every one of them 
reconnected by noon the next day.  After that the 
politicians admitted defeat and abolished charges in their 
area.

OUTRAGEOUS ACCOUNTANTS AND OUTRAGED TAXPAYERS
When the government suggested that accountants be obliged to 
report tax evasion by their clients they held a mass meeting 
in DublinÕs RDS to protest at this "outrage".  If some kid 
robs a car radio these are the sort of people who scream for 
harsher punishments and more garda’ on the streets.  When 
they are told to report major frauds involving millions of 
pounds they are indignant.  Finance Minister Ruairi Quinn 
agrees with them.  Section 153 of the Finance Act allows 
them to overlook £5,000 in tax fraud.
	Last year the average PAYE worker paid 34,115 in income 
tax.  Last year also saw a tax amnesty for rich tax didgers 
and big business which wrote off at least £500 million.  
This amount would have funded all the service charges in the 
country for the next ten years.
They had hardly started their meeting when a dozen people 
from anti-water charge groups took over the stage and hung 
up big banner inscribed with "When big business cheats, PAYE 
workers pay".   The meeting was held up for half an hour 
while the accountants were given a lecture about how little 
tax the wealthy pay and how much is taken from working 
people.  They all had to sit and listen as some dopey 
accountant had locked the door of the hall to stop more 
protesters getting in and then couldnÕt open it again!

*******************************************************

          **  Have I got news for you  **

SUNDAY MAY 13th saw the first national conference of 
anti-water charge campaigns from all around the 
country.  In Dublin a majority of eligible 
householders are ignoring the law and refusing to 
pay.  Similar figures are available elsewhere.  Yet 
this conference received only one and a half column 
inches in the Irish Times, and no mention in any 
other paper.

Meanwhile the Finance Minister, Ruairi Quinn, was bringing 
in a new law which will require accountants to report any of 
their clients who they discover are breaking the law by 
trying to cheat on tax.  The accountants protested by 
holding meetings and issuing press statements.  Their side 
was covered in all sections of the media: radio, newspapers 
and television.  Special TV programmes were made about them, 
and they even had an accountant on Questions & Answers to 
plead their case.

Biased reporting

This is a good example of the way reporting is carried 
out.  TV, radio and newspapers publish very bland accounts 
of what is going on.  They may make a big deal, and give us 
all a laugh, out of the so-called sexual scandals of the 
British Tory party.  We also see a lot of articles 
criticising working class people such as "dole spongers" or 
people claiming "too much" on their insurance.  But serious 
investigative journalism is usually avoided when it comes to 
business or politics.  In general, the mass media is pro-
business and pro-state.

It is not a conspiracy

This is not a conspiracy theory.  We do not belive 
there is a secret force controlling mainstream media 
reporting, intent on bending the truth one way or another.  
There are very good reasons why the media is as it is.
It costs a fortune own a newspaper or TV company.

Anybody who does so, like Tony O'Reilly, Rupert Murdoch or 
Conrad Black, is a millionaire.  Media moguls are in the 
same league as the rest of the rich.  They hang pout in the 
same clubs, they buy racehorses from each other and, more 
importantly, they have similar economic interests.

They all want a stable economy, friendly to capitalists 
like themselves.  They support each other in trying to lower 
their employees' wages and breaking strikes.  They all want 
to see lower public spending on services like health, and 
more tax breaks for the rich.  While it is true that they 
complete with each other for audiences and advertising, it 
is also true that they have far more in common with each 
other than with the rest of us.

Power of advertising

There is a more direct link that connects the ruling 
class with media coverage.  That is advertising and 
shareholding.  Most papers and broadcasting stations depend 
on advertising to stay afloat.  It costs thousands of pounds 
to put even a short advert. on TV or in a national 
newspaper.  That is why most of it comes from 
multinationals, banks, insurance firms, etc.
If one newspaper published articles slagging off the 
Bank of Ireland, they would soon find the bank refusing to 
buy advertising space from them.  There are only so many big 
advertisers.

If a media outlet was to lose this advertising to a 
competitor they would quickly find themselves in trouble.  
Profits would fall, and the shareholders would threaten to 
pull out.  So no media company will be in hurry to publish 
controversial news about a company that advertises with 
them.   Likewise, they are most unlikely to publish anything 
controversial about people who own shares in their firm.
The process can be more subtle, harder to pinpoint.   
Most media are dependent on advertising to be profitable, 
and advertisers target certain groups in their campaigns 
(e.g. people with high incomes).  The paper or TV station, 
then, will also have to target these groups if it is to 
attract advertising, which further narrows the range of 
opinions they are likely to broadcast.

These factors help to ensure that little of a 
controversial nature gets into the mainstream propaganda 
networks.  It makes simple economic sense.  That is why a 
massive, if passive, revolt can take place in the suburbs of 
Ireland and the media are not interested.  And that is why 
it takes amateurs putting in voluntary time and energy to 
publish alternative news and ideas.

Andrew Blackmore

