Fair play to you lads.....the cheek of that guy saying "it's a done deal, you'll have to pay your bill"! He and the rest of that corrupt shower can go take a leap of a cliff! Mass non-payment is what we need! And all I can say to IW is....BRING IT ON!
Every word of this is truth... Luka Bloom I wrote this last week in Switzerland. Just thinking about the debate in Ireland at the moment about water charges; and the privatisation of water services. I came home to hear the debate continue. Normally I don't write this way on my page, because I use this for songs and photos and little stories. I'm posting this, particularly for Irish people around the place who stumble upon my site. This is not about politics for me. It's not left, nor right. It is literally about life itself. I hope it is not too long and rambling. Ah, it just is. Water is life. I’m away at the moment, but watching keenly events at home. This water business is following me everywhere. And it seems to have lit a flame in Ireland. There is so much to this. As David Byrne of Talking Heads once sang: ‘This is not my beautiful house. How did I get here?’ Indeed. How did we get here? So much of our individual bodies are made up of water; our lives literally depend upon it. The availability of clean water to drink, wash, water plants etc…may well be a human right. But in reality, for those of us who live in apartments, houses etc…we rely upon a human service to deliver this vital resource to our homes. This is a service which must be paid for. Otherwise it cannot happen. My big question here is not whether we must pay for water, but WHO and HOW we pay for the water we receive? We either pay for this service in taxes, to a democratically elected government; or we pay a private corporation to deliver this service. In other words we are to be ‘taxed’ by a government we elected; or we are to be ‘taxed’ by a corporation, who’s priority will always be to secure profit for it’s shareholders. And the reason the current(sorry!) saga in Ireland excites and challenges, is because it finally brings us to the beginning of a conversation we have never really had in Ireland, about the type of society epublic we wish to live in. Water is life. And so finally we are awakened to the creeping privatisation of life which has been proceeding unchecked in Ireland for many years. The privatisation of water IS the privatisation of life itself Let’s talk about it. I remember when Mary Harney was Minister for Health many moons ago. Speaking about Health insurance, and whether Ireland should embrace Boston or Berlin, she suggested ‘the Irish consumer needs to shop around’, or words to that effect. This was the first time I heard an elected politician refer to Irish people as ‘consumers’, rather than ‘citizens’. It is now quite commonplace to hear politicians refer to ‘the consumer’, or even ‘the punter’, when referring to Irish citizens. And so irish institutions become privatised. Are Lingus, Eircom, An Post……..and so on. And one can argue the rights or wrongs of Government being in the business of travel or communication. But when it comes to health, education and…WATER, we are crossing serious lines. If private companies determine the course of education, health, and WATER; one may well ask, what is the purpose of government at all? My passport tells me I am an Irish Citizen. It means the world to me. I am not a ‘consumer’ in matters of state; I am a citizen. I have rights, AND I have responsibilities. So, back to water. The decision to privatise the delivery of water to Irish homes and industries and businesses is such a fundamental shift in the nature of our society. The very least ‘we the people’ deserved in this is an opportunity to vote on it. I say this in all seriousness, because Water is life. A simple question: Do the people of Ireland wish to privatise Water? To me, the privatisation of water in Ireland is a more serious matter than many of the issues we have voted on in referenda over the past years. Let us discuss the privatisation of water as a nation. And let us vote on it. The answer to this question will tell us a lot about the kind of society epublic we wish to live in. A society where we are served and taxed by private corporations whose sole priority is profit; or a society where we ELECT people to govern, and to make practical decisions on our behalf, solely for the betterment of the citizens who chose to elect them. Water is life. Allow me to dream for a moment. What if we had such a referendum, and the Irish people voted in favour of privatisation. In short, this would be a sad day for this citizen. What if the Irish people voted NO to privatisation? This would be a great victory right? Well, perhaps….. But in truth, it would only bring us to the foot of the mountain. This brings me to the realm of RESPONSIBILITIES when it comes to citizenship. We all want clean water. And yet, despite the huge amounts of water falling on Ireland, our water infrastructure is a shambles. And the pollution of our waterways, and estuaries is a disgrace. The number of coastal towns with no sewage treatment is shocking. Water is life. And so, if the Irish people voted to reject privatisation of water, all that means is that we have arrived at the beginning of possibility. What if we harness all our talents, and our love of Ireland, and decide that, having rejected privatisation of water, we are going to endeavour as citizens to return all our precious water to the pure state it deserves to flow in. We are going to be real, and tackle ALL the problems that poison our water; including agricultural phosphates, cow manure; raw sewage……. What if we the people insist that OUR government do ALL in its power to tackle all the major problems affecting OUR water. Last week someone told me that salmon crossing the Atlantic mostly bypass Ireland and head further North, to avoid pollution. This week, I am writing from Switzerland, where people pay government for water. You can drink and swim in the water flowing through Bern, the nation’s capital. No one complains. Because they own, and can drink, the result. It can be done. I want to imagine an Ireland where the salmon wants to make the vital journey upstream as it did for centuries. I want to imagine an Ireland where people freely swim in lakes, rivers and beaches, unworried about poisonous pollution. I want to imagine an Ireland where no one anywhere has to boil water before using it. I want to imagine an Ireland where this vital resource is cherished and honoured and loved, and celebrated; as well as shared with the many more people who will want to visit us, to swim and fish and surf and and and…. For too long our political discourse has been mired in the poisonous mud of civil war. Enough. Water is life. There is work to be done. The ONLY way we can begin to realise our full potential as irish citizens is to simply reclaim our water. And in doing so, we can begin to work together as proud citizens to restore our water to IT’S former glory. If the only legacy this generation of Irish citizens leaves it’s children is the guarantee of clean water, it will be a mighty legacy. I know the water issue appears to be about money; people’s hardship, and exhaustion with austerity. But there is so much more to this. It represents a great opportunity for Irish people. For the simple reason that water is life. If this bored you; sorry. if you liked it, maybe share......thanks.
Fair play guys and gals. I am proud of ye all. I love the statement about the Jack Russell running for Taoiseach! See you all at the march on Saturday.
Fair play to you lads.....the cheek of that guy saying "it's a done deal, you'll have to pay your bill"! He and the rest of that corrupt shower can go take a leap of a cliff! Mass non-payment is what we need! And all I can say to IW is....BRING IT ON!
Paul Byrne ,not the brightest anchorman to be interviewing well informed members of the public.He is an embarrassment, cringe tv.
If there is any ELECTED representatives in that meeting they have NO right to be having a PRIVATE meeting
The rest of Ireland are so proud of you guys..
Go Wan the Rebels, ;)
Every word of this is truth...
Luka Bloom
I wrote this last week in Switzerland. Just thinking about the debate in Ireland at the moment about water charges; and the privatisation of water services. I came home to hear the debate continue. Normally I don't write this way on my page, because I use this for songs and photos and little stories.
I'm posting this, particularly for Irish people around the place who stumble upon my site. This is not about politics for me. It's not left, nor right. It is literally about life itself. I hope it is not too long and rambling.
Ah, it just is.
Water is life.
I’m away at the moment, but watching keenly events at home. This water business is following me everywhere. And it seems to have lit a flame in Ireland. There is so much to this.
As David Byrne of Talking Heads once sang:
‘This is not my beautiful house. How did I get here?’
Indeed. How did we get here?
So much of our individual bodies are made up of water; our lives literally depend upon it.
The availability of clean water to drink, wash, water plants etc…may well be a human right. But in reality, for those of us who live in apartments, houses etc…we rely upon a human service to deliver this vital resource to our homes. This is a service which must be paid for. Otherwise it cannot happen.
My big question here is not whether we must pay for water, but WHO and HOW we pay for the water we receive?
We either pay for this service in taxes, to a democratically elected government; or we pay a private corporation to deliver this service.
In other words we are to be ‘taxed’ by a government we elected; or we are to be ‘taxed’ by a corporation, who’s priority will always be to secure profit for it’s shareholders.
And the reason the current(sorry!) saga in Ireland excites and challenges, is because it finally brings us to the beginning of a conversation we have never really had in Ireland, about the type of society
epublic we wish to live in.
Water is life.
And so finally we are awakened to the creeping privatisation of life which has been proceeding unchecked in Ireland for many years.
The privatisation of water IS the privatisation of life itself
Let’s talk about it.
I remember when Mary Harney was Minister for Health many moons ago. Speaking about Health insurance, and whether Ireland should embrace Boston or Berlin, she suggested ‘the Irish consumer needs to shop around’, or words to that effect. This was the first time I heard an elected politician refer to Irish people as ‘consumers’, rather than ‘citizens’.
It is now quite commonplace to hear politicians refer to ‘the consumer’, or even ‘the punter’, when referring to Irish citizens. And so irish institutions become privatised. Are Lingus, Eircom, An Post……..and so on. And one can argue the rights or wrongs of Government being in the business of travel or communication.
But when it comes to health, education and…WATER, we are crossing serious lines. If private companies determine the course of education, health, and WATER; one may well ask, what is the purpose of government at all?
My passport tells me I am an Irish Citizen. It means the world to me.
I am not a ‘consumer’ in matters of state; I am a citizen. I have rights, AND I have responsibilities.
So, back to water.
The decision to privatise the delivery of water to Irish homes and industries and businesses is such a fundamental shift in the nature of our society.
The very least ‘we the people’ deserved in this is an opportunity to vote on it.
I say this in all seriousness, because Water is life.
A simple question: Do the people of Ireland wish to privatise Water?
To me, the privatisation of water in Ireland is a more serious matter than many of the issues we have voted on in referenda over the past years.
Let us discuss the privatisation of water as a nation.
And let us vote on it.
The answer to this question will tell us a lot about the kind of
society
epublic we wish to live in.
A society where we are served and taxed by private corporations whose sole priority is profit; or a society where we ELECT people to govern, and to make practical decisions on our behalf, solely for the betterment of the citizens who chose to elect them.
Water is life.
Allow me to dream for a moment.
What if we had such a referendum, and the Irish people voted in favour of privatisation. In short, this would be a sad day for this citizen.
What if the Irish people voted NO to privatisation?
This would be a great victory right?
Well, perhaps…..
But in truth, it would only bring us to the foot of the mountain.
This brings me to the realm of RESPONSIBILITIES when it comes to citizenship.
We all want clean water.
And yet, despite the huge amounts of water falling on Ireland, our water infrastructure is a shambles. And the pollution of our waterways, and estuaries is a disgrace. The number of coastal towns with no sewage treatment is shocking.
Water is life.
And so, if the Irish people voted to reject privatisation of water, all that means is that we have arrived at the beginning of possibility.
What if we harness all our talents, and our love of Ireland, and decide that, having rejected privatisation of water, we are going to endeavour as citizens to return all our precious water to the pure state it deserves to flow in. We are going to be real, and tackle ALL the problems that poison our water; including agricultural phosphates, cow manure; raw sewage…….
What if we the people insist that OUR government do ALL in its power to tackle all the major problems affecting OUR water.
Last week someone told me that salmon crossing the Atlantic mostly bypass Ireland and head further North, to avoid pollution.
This week, I am writing from Switzerland, where people pay government for water. You can drink and swim in the water flowing through Bern, the nation’s capital. No one complains. Because they own, and can drink, the result.
It can be done.
I want to imagine an Ireland where the salmon wants to make the vital journey upstream as it did for centuries.
I want to imagine an Ireland where people freely swim in lakes, rivers and beaches, unworried about poisonous pollution.
I want to imagine an Ireland where no one anywhere has to boil water before using it.
I want to imagine an Ireland where this vital resource is cherished and honoured and loved, and celebrated; as well as shared with the many more people who will want to visit us, to swim and fish and surf and and and….
For too long our political discourse has been mired in the poisonous mud of civil war. Enough.
Water is life. There is work to be done.
The ONLY way we can begin to realise our full potential as irish citizens is to simply reclaim our water. And in doing so, we can begin to work together as proud citizens to restore our water to IT’S former glory.
If the only legacy this generation of Irish citizens leaves it’s children is the guarantee of clean water, it will be a mighty legacy.
I know the water issue appears to be about money; people’s hardship, and exhaustion with austerity. But there is so much more to this. It represents a great opportunity for Irish people.
For the simple reason that water is life.
If this bored you; sorry. if you liked it, maybe share......thanks.
Fair play guys and gals. I am proud of ye all. I love the statement about the Jack Russell running for Taoiseach! See you all at the march on Saturday.
I see they're not drinking their own water out of the taps...
Well done Ger you're the man to sort them out!!
That first man is a Legend
Well done to the people , IRISH water ,tax to pay banks and bondholders ,
"The Irish won't protest". Not sure how true that is anymore.
The reporter says it's a done deal that aged well🤣🤣.
Guess who's paying the interviewer?