Falcarrfagh Meeting on Household Charges

donegal | miscellaneous | news report Thursday December 22, 2011 16:32 by Emmett Farrell - Sociaist Party pemmettfarrell at gmail dot com 087 4174124

Falcarragh Meeting

Meeting on Household Charges and Septic Tank Legislation where Pearse Doherty Sinn Feing stated that he would not advocate not paying the charge

Household and Septic Tank Charges Meeting at Falcarragh Saturday 10th December 2011 Attendance: over 100 Pre-meeting entertainment Therese Kavanagh fiddle player and Aidan (poet) Top table Chair … Theresa Woods, Owen Curran, Denise Ni Dhuibhir, Fr Brian Ferry Owen Curran introduced the meeting: ‘From Rye … not a politician … attended the national meeting in Dublin … 200 delegates from 16 counties…. Hogan €100 ‘Temporary Charge’…ESRI €1,300 in 2014 for water and household charge … Cloughaneeley campaign ongoing… 700 signatures on We Wont Pay petition in two mornings… What is the purpose of the registration charge for septic tank … the county council know every house which is not on main sewer and has to have septic tank … Strongest weapon ‘Keep your money in your pocket’. Fr Brian Ferry (as gaeilge) Explained why involved in campaign “ … unemployement, emigration, young people coming to him to sign for passport … heading for America and Australia … people calling the Vincent De Paul for help and could not continue to stand by when he read letter in Irish Times from unemployed MP ODomhnaill who could not feed his children …He felt a moral obligation to stand up … faults in the church too but when he heard Enda Kenny saying to the Nation …You are not responsible for this crisis’ but then impose stealth taxes to pay bailout of reckless gamblers …its not ok … its not fair …not just…simple as that … modest fee !! … will rise relentlessly …if we allow. …justice must be done…people are being robbed of their futures can it be won yes …government are testing the waters for more taxes…seasaigi gualainn le gualainn… are scath a cheile a mhaireann na daoine…something for everyone to do … as Father Ted placard said during the protest aginst the cinema …Down with this Sort of Thing…. Time for letting your neighbours fight your battles is over.” Denise Ni Dhuibhir (tre gaelige) From Falcaragh … involved in the anti-water charges campaign in Dublin during early 1990s and explained how the campaign was built and democratically led and how responded when people brought to Court and when the Councils cut off peoples water … how the campaigned organised so that water was reconnected and how a legal fund was established and built to provide legal defence. Had worked in Zambia and saw how the IMF Structural Adjustment Programmes had been imposed in Zambia to force Zambian people to repay odious loans … forcing farmers to abandon food crops to plant flowers and other crops for export… Need to resist this tax. Open to floor. Joe Woods … comghaireachas don athair Brian … recently called to womans house ..crying …repossession order on house … no food and no money … must fight this tax … so what if they jail us …you will get a lovely dinner on the way to Mountjoy and they will have to release you after one night because there is no room and you will get another lovely dinner on the way home.. Joe Curran … Would like Pearse Doherty to speak on this … Pearse Doherty (TD) Glad to be here…I must be honest … Not advocating that people not pay …I and SF will support anyone not paying … campaign is not happening around the country …forget about the 22 people jailed during the bin tax campaign…the sanction is a fine not jail…after the bin tax campaign was defeated people were left paying arrears …the septic tank legislation allows a Class C fine and deduction at source from wages and childrens allowance …No way am I going to tell people not to pay if a fine is going to be deducted from their pay … and a site value tax is coming aimed at rural Ireland … the biggest problem with the septic tank legislation is the cost of the remediation works … there is a fundamental flaw in the household charge legislation which will enable a lot of people to avoid paying …I am not going to tell the Minister what it is… Gearoid O Bhraonain … Issue of social welfare recipients … very vulnerable John Campbell (councillor) Support this campaign … charge only to raise revenue to reduce debt … lots of bonds to be paid in December … we did not elect people in February to continue doing the same thing … why are we paying these debts… We have a chance now to say no… they have taken the money already out of the Council budget in Lifford … No pay is the only way… If you do not pay you will commit a criminal offence and yhou have to make the choice yourself. Emmett Farrell Ta bron orm nach bhfuil gaelige liofa agam… Pollution from septic tanks is real and more than 50% of the septic tanks inspected will not comply … the remedial works are necessary … the question is who is going to pay… people who pay their taxes in rural areas are as entitled to expenditure on sewage treatment as those in urban areas where € 5 billion has being spent on urban waste water treatment … better that a task force be established of unemployed building works and engineers to do the necessary remedial works country wide … was not going to speak until heard Pearse Doherty speak…Involved in anti-water charges and anti-bin tax campaigns in Dublin …if Pearse is saying that the anti-bin tax campaign has abandoned people then he should name them … Pearse said that Sinn Fein will fight this tax tooth and nail but it sounds like Sinn Fein are speaking out of both sides fo their mouth … the only way that this tax can be defeated is by non-payment … I if the campaign against the water charge had not fought the charge would now be €800 according to Mary Hanafin FF minister… everything that the anti-bin tax campaign said during the campaign has been proven to be correct…the waiver is gon, the public sector jobs have been privatised… Is Pearse saying we should give up? Denis Dhuibhir … Addressing attendance …Are we all willing to unite on this ? …. YES by acclamation. Aidan … Of all the filthy things this government has done in budget the attack on disabled people is the worst … Michael Mac Giolla Iosa Reported on the 12 campaigns ongoing throughout Donegal with big attendances at all meetings in particular over 200 in Gweedore and over 300 in Donegal town. Chairwoman interrupts … it was a publicity stunt … to divert attention from the rest of the cuts… and Enda Kenny’s buddy’s payrise.. Need to build the campaign country wide. Asked for show of hands for Non-Payment 100% Owen Curran wrapped up the meeting asking people to get involved, to talk to neighbours about the meeting and while the government think they are smart, we are smart too… as Joe Strummer said ‘the future is not written’ and as the great James Connolly said ‘the only true prophets are those who create the future they predict’.

Falcarragh meeting on Household and Septic Tank Charges 0.03 Mb