Anti-Water Charges Strike (1994)

Sat Sep 24, 1994

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On this day in 1994, in opposition to water bill increases, working class Irish activists began a campaign of resistance, refusing to pay water bills and engaging in direct action to prevent peoples’ water supplies from being shut off.

To facilitate this campaign, activists formed the Federation of Dublin Anti-Water Charges Campaigns (FDAWCC).

A protest march five hundred strong took place in the city center in November, and, over the course of late 1994/early 1995. nearly every house in Fingal and South Dublin had received a leaflet from the campaign.

In response to the water bill strike, the city declared that, if people didn’t pay their outstanding bills within a certain number of days, they would begin cutting off peoples’ water supply. In response, the community followed and spied on water inspectors in order to prevent them from shutting off the water supply to various homes.

Legal action escalated, and some residents were called into court over unpaid water charges. Despite this, very few people were actually issued disconnections, and more than 50% of houses were not paying their water bills. Finally, on December 19th, 1996 the Minister for the Environment announced that the water charge would be done away with.