Budget Protest outside Leinster House
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news report 
Wednesday December 04, 2002 15:02
by Justin Moran - Sinn Fein
maigh_nuad at yahoo dot com
Was only there for five minutes and it might still be going on but there was a small enough turnout for the budget protest march outside Leinster House.
Was only there for five minutes and it might still be going on but there was a small enough turnout for the budget protest march outside Leinster House.
A crowd of 150 (Absolute no question maximum) heard speakers including Martin Ferris, Joe Higgins, Seamus Healy, the President of the CPSU and a rep from the Monaghan Hospital Action Group (Who are practically permanently encamped outside Leinster House these days and dead sound people to have a chat with if you ever pass by).
There were two or three SF banners, an SP banner and a lot of SP placards and some people selling Socialist Worker so those groups were represented as well.
Couldn't stay for any of the speeches so some-one else will have to inform as to what was said but turnout was disappointing. Obviously the fact that it was a workday, close to Xmas and didn't get a great deal of publicity beforehand didn't help but still, disappointing.
Comments (6 of 6)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6Loud noises now coming from the direction of the front gate, a very large crowd has obviously just arrived which I presume is the USI march from the Dept of Finance.
There was a very small crowd of the usual commie and lefty losers when I passed by. I've just seen all the students gather outside the Dáil and there is good crowd. A few idiot students with "Socialist Worker" placards, but mostly genuine protesters that don't want to pay college fees.
It's something I'm in two minds about actually - if your parents can afford to pay, then why shouldn't they pay. If your parents are below a certain income level, then they should get a grant. That was the way it worked in my time in college (my auld lad's income was quite low, so we never had to pay fees). I assume that's how any new system would work. Plus you could spend the money earned from the rich students' parents to subsidise the poor students' parents.
***I hate to say it, but would this be the fairest and most "socialist"/lefty system?*** Or maybe they're just protesting for the sake of it???
You'd have to trust the government to use the money from restoring fees to offer grants and maintenance grants. Charging wealthier students and giving the money to poorer students may be better, but a bird in the hand...
Ok, soooooo,
to the guy above going on about ppl sellin socialist worker and then talkin bout 'genuine' protestors... so just cos ur a member of a party you are not genuine in yr belief? oh fuck off back to ur armchair. you 'passed by' - why didnt you stay with the rest of us - on both demos???
forgot to add this, but you question as to why parents with 'higer' incomes should not have to pay. well call me whatever u want, but if ur old enuff to vote and join the army (and kill) and drink at 18 why should ur parents be lumbered with puttin u thru college? education should be free! end of story, its a right not a privilidge despite what ppl would have us believe. and as for me, my parents put me thru college, for which i am eternally grateful to them for. but why should they have had to do it in the first place?
there would have been more there if it was not on at lunchtime. It's hard for people to get time off etc to go to a demo. If that demo was on saturday there would without a doubt be far more.
The crowd did fall a bit overtime, workers going back to work! When you came out Justin it was probably at the end of the protest.
The President of the CPSU is Denis Keane (btw he's a member of the SP).
The noise you heard afterwards was the USI demo. There were about 1000 on it. The CFE contingent ended up occupying the Dept of Transport, you may have seen it on the news.
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