Protesters: Irish Congress of Trade Unions
Target: The Irish Government
Location: Dublin
DateL: 29 September
The lowdown
More than 1,500 people attended a trade union rally against public spending cuts in Dublin, as part of a pan-European day of action that also hit Belfast, Derry, Madrid, Brussels, Athens, Lisbon, Porto, Warsaw and Vilnius. The protest took place outside the Dail to mark the return of the Government from its summer break. The theme of the protest was 'Jobs not Cuts'.
- Why the protests?
Congress president Jack O'Connor called on the Irish Government to 'offer reassurance to people in terms of their jobs, their pensions and retention of the roof over their heads ...
In pursuit of reducing the deficit, we urge the Government to shift focus to revenue sources that will not take out vast sums of money that are currently in circulation in the economy.'
- How did the Government respond?
No response was given, but it declared its intention to intensify the austerity programme to cut EUR4bn (£3.45bn) during 2011. Similar adjustments are likely for the following three years, as the Irish Government seeks to bring the Budget deficit down from 11.6 per cent to three per cent of GDP.
- Media treatment
The story was covered widely in the Irish press including the Irish Times. The Press Association covered the story as part of the wider news of cuts protests across Europe.
