Feb 9th Protest - will you be joining?

Annasopra · 01-02-2013 08:41PM #1

There is a large protest in Dublin, Cork, Sligo, Waterford and Limerick against the bank debt on Saturday February 9th

DUBLIN: Cook Street (near Civic Offices, Wood Quay);
CORK: SIPTU offices, Connolly, Hall Lapps Quay;
GALWAY: Cathedral Car Park;
LIMERICK: Mechanics Institute, Harstonge Street;
WATERFORD: The Glen (in front of the Forum);
SLIGO: Sligo County Council Offices, Riverside

Here is some information about it and why the protest is being called

http://vimeo.com/58711943#

http://www.ictu.ie/jobsnotdebt/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igdHayzjUVI&feature=youtu.be

Will you join?

01-02-2013 08:45PM

Yeah, sitting around giving out is going to magic jobs out of thin air

No

sfwcork · 01-02-2013 08:46PM

Will there be finger food?

lockon... · 01-02-2013 08:47PM

Not a chance

Dublin Office
General Secretary - David Begg

David Begg became General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions in 2001. For five years prior to that he was Chief Executive of Concern Worldwide, an international humanitarian organisation working in 27 countries and with offices in Dublin, London, Belfast, New York and Chicago. He is also a Director of the Central Bank (since 1995), a Governor of the Irish Times Trust, non Executive Director of Aer Lingus, a member of the National Economic and Social Council (NESC), and of the Advisory Board of Development Co-operation Ireland. He also sits on the Executive Committee of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).

http://www.ictu.ie/about/staff.html

Bipolar Joe · 01-02-2013 08:47PM

Not that I agree protests do much good, but what do people completely against them recommend otherwise?

stmol32 · 01-02-2013 08:48PM

bluewolf wrote: »

Yeah, sitting around giving out is going to magic jobs out of thin air

No

They won't be sitting around, it's a march.

01-02-2013 08:49PM

No thanks.

Fr_Dougal · 01-02-2013 08:50PM

Thinly veiled "lets spam the forum promoting a march/event" thread...

Fox_In_Socks · 01-02-2013 08:51PM

bluewolf wrote: »

Yeah, sitting around giving out is going to magic jobs out of thin air

No

At what stage would you protest something?

Noel Kinsella · 01-02-2013 08:51PM

No.

mango salsa wrote: »

There is a large protest in Dublin, Cork, Sligo, Waterford and Limerick against the bank debt on Saturday February 9th

DUBLIN: Cook Street (near Civic Offices, Wood Quay);
CORK: SIPTU offices, Connolly, Hall Lapps Quay;
GALWAY: Cathedral Car Park;
LIMERICK: Mechanics Institute, Harstonge Street;
WATERFORD: The Glen (in front of the Forum);
SLIGO: Sligo County Council Offices, Riverside

Here is some information about it and why the protest is being called

http://vimeo.com/58711943#

http://www.ictu.ie/jobsnotdebt/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igdHayzjUVI&feature=youtu.be

Will you join?

St.Spodo · 01-02-2013 08:53PM

bluewolf wrote: »

Yeah, sitting around giving out is going to magic jobs out of thin air

No

Many, many people have lots of reasons to protest at the state of affairs in which they have found themselves through no fault of their own.

dvpower · 01-02-2013 08:53PM

Who is the target of these protests and where will they be protesting?

Airitech · 01-02-2013 08:54PM

mango salsa wrote: »

There is a large protest in Dublin, Cork, Sligo, Waterford and Limerick against the bank debt on Saturday February 9th

DUBLIN: Cook Street (near Civic Offices, Wood Quay);
CORK: SIPTU offices, Connolly, Hall Lapps Quay;
GALWAY: Cathedral Car Park;
LIMERICK: Mechanics Institute, Harstonge Street;
WATERFORD: The Glen (in front of the Forum);
SLIGO: Sligo County Council Offices, Riverside

Here is some information about it and why the protest is being called

http://vimeo.com/58711943#

http://www.ictu.ie/jobsnotdebt/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igdHayzjUVI&feature=youtu.be

Will you join?

I have only read the ICTU link. This may be answered on the videos so forgive me if it is: who is organising the march? Is it just an ICTU event or will it include others, SWP, eirigi etc.?

slim223 · 01-02-2013 08:54PM

stmol32 wrote: »

They won't be sitting around, it's a march.

So why have it in February :mad:

68 lost souls · 01-02-2013 08:56PM

NO!

A protest of any sort is a waste of resources, we are in debt there is no way a protest of any sort will change that. If people organising the protests put that effort into organising startups or taking advantage of the budget benefits for research and design then we could maybe do something about the debt.

Guarda budgets are being cut and spending Money on policing these needless protests could have been spent to keep stations open.

Many many more reasons I disagree with protesting. Suck it up, get on with it and start getting ourselves out of debt rather than complaining about it.

Death and Taxes · 01-02-2013 08:57PM

So NO to stupidity.

I am arranging a counter demonstration on the same dates at the same venues, I will be demanding CAKE, and I mean real CAKE, for everyone.
Say no to Austerity Say Yes to Cake

GalwayGuy2 · 01-02-2013 08:57PM

These marches will lead to great and inspiring plans to fix the economy...;)

JuliusCaesar · 01-02-2013 09:05PM

Yes, I'll be there. The present regime of austerity is austerity for me and others like me, in order to maintain our bankers in the style to which they became accustomed. The savage cut-backs in public services make it really difficult for both patients and staff of the HSE. It's really hard to provide what you know is a sub-standard service, a service which is WAY below best practice, when our Minister continues to insist that staff reductions have made no difference to patient treatment/services. YES IT HAS Minister.

Although I don't think the govt is listening, it's really important to send the message that the ordinary people of Ireland are not happy at being taxed to the hilt and beyond to pay off bank debts. That's BANK DEBTS, not our debts.

MrPoker · 01-02-2013 09:08PM

Well when you look at the latest Eurostat figures you have to wonder at what point are people going to make a stand? They are pretty eye opening figures and we are paying relativly more towards the debt compared to our European counterparts with a much smaller population. Not really fair is it?

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/42-of-europes-banking-crisis-paid-by-ireland-219703.html

johnnycarrick · 01-02-2013 09:12PM

Its a tough decision for me.
I have been offered a date from a 5 foot 5" stunner with long blonde hair.
She wants to meet on the 9th at 2.30pm for tea and cake in a hotel.
What would you do? Turn her down and say; sorry I need to protest about something that will change nothing..

Annasopra · 01-02-2013 09:17PM

Bipolar Joe wrote: »

Not that I agree protests do much good, but what do people completely against them recommend otherwise?

Nothing - absolutely nothing

WallyGUFC · 01-02-2013 09:19PM

mango salsa wrote: »

Nothing - absolutely nothing

What will wasting a day protesting achieve? Nothing, absolutely nothing.

Noel Kinsella · 01-02-2013 09:25PM

WileyCoyote wrote: »

So NO to stupidity.

I am arranging a counter demonstration on the same dates at the same venues, I will be demanding CAKE, and I mean real CAKE, for everyone.
Say no to Austerity Say Yes to Cake

This is a serious thread. You are disrespecting the moderator with your comments in my opinion and its wrong. I am not protesting but do not think you should be laughing at the protests or the moderator.

Annasopra · 01-02-2013 09:27PM

WallyGUFC wrote: »

What will wasting a day protesting achieve? Nothing, absolutely nothing.

Actually it achieves a huge amount:

It gives ordinary people who are struggling a voice

It illustrates that people are actually struggling to the point of extreme poverty

It highlights the injustice against the Irish people

It shows that Irish people want to take a strong stand against that injustice

It shows to the International media and to the wider world that people in Ireland are not just completely ambivalent and careless about how we are shouldering 42% of the EU bank debt burden

01-02-2013 09:28PM

WallyGUFC wrote: »

What will wasting a day protesting achieve? Nothing, absolutely nothing.

We could go and protest the health sector overspend
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2013/0112/1224328742783.html

Health spending in Ireland remains a cause of concern for the commission. Savings promises have been “only partially delivered”, resulting in an estimated €370 million budget overrun in 2012.

Ireland has the highest OECD per-head health spend, the report noted, flagging salaries of doctors and consultants as “worthy of special attention”. Higher consultant numbers might drive down salaries, the report added.

“More can be done in the cost of medication,” the authors added, noting that Ireland’s spending in this area almost tripled between 2000 and 2008 and, in 2010, lay a third above the EU average.

Branded products

Doctors should be obliged to prescribe active ingredients rather than branded products, except in cases where there is a well-founded reason.

Interesting reading
http://trueeconomics.blogspot.ie/2012/01/712012-irish-exchequer-results-2011.html

Together, Social Protection, Health and Children accounted for 46.51% of the spending in 2008 and this now is up at 57.88% in 2011. In other words, almost €6 per every €10 spent by the state goes to finance the two functions that constitute in traditional nomenclature social welfare benefits and social benefits (note that private spending on health is netted out via departmental receipts in the net expenditure figures). Education accounts for roughly the same share – ca 18% of total spend – in 2011 as in 2008. Economic sectors departments (other than Transport) used to account for 6.84% of the total spend in 2008 and this is now down to 4.56% in 2011.

In short, the priority of the Government spending over the years of the crisis has shifted firmly away from supporting economy’s productive capacity and delivering structural subsidies to ‘social and environmental pillars’, to serving social welfare functions and preserving as much as possible public health spending.

http://www.esri.ie/irish_economy/

Excluding support to the banking system, the deficit was 11.5 per cent of GDP in 2009 and 10.9 per cent of GDP in 2010. In 2011 the deficit narrowed to 9 per cent of GDP.

As for alternatives, they could sit down and work out actual logical plans of what they want and consider the implications and long term effects. Not "I'm angry and I want jobs!"

books4sale · 01-02-2013 09:34PM

The only two groups that can lead an effective protest in this country are the OAP's and the farmers. Angry, passion and willingness to give it welly. Everyone else, forget it!

Protesting should be all about breaking the rules and boundaries, not these mass controlled walks up the street.

You'd find more anger in Disneyland.

books4sale · 01-02-2013 09:38PM

mango salsa wrote: »

Actually it achieves a huge amount:

Everything is crap before the protest.

Everything is crap after the protest.

It achieves nothing.

Annasopra · 01-02-2013 09:49PM

books4sale wrote: »

Everything is crap before the protest.

Everything is crap after the protest.

It achieves nothing.

Right ok - keep accepting that life is bad and nothing can ever change - meanwhile - I'll be doing something useful on February 9th

jd83 · 01-02-2013 09:55PM

books4sale wrote: »

Everything is crap before the protest.

Everything is crap after the protest.

It achieves nothing.

It will achieve something.....

It will make town a no go area while its on for anyone who has to get to work or go through town at that time and take Gardai away from their normal jobs policing the streets to babysit. That's about all it will achieve

Annasopra · 01-02-2013 09:57PM

jd83 wrote: »

It will achieve something.....

It will make town a no go area while its on for anyone who has to get to work or go through town at that time and take Gardai away from their normal jobs policing the streets to babysit. That's about all it will achieve

I'm afraid I really don't believe in people powerlessness

Where To · 01-02-2013 09:58PM

Protests can be useful, when the protesters spend money travelling to and from the protest and in the pubs afterwards. As long as there is no trouble they are not totally useless.

Feb 9th Protest - will you be joining?

Comments