Galway water protesters maintain vigil at estate entrance

Protesters objecting to Irish Water’s installation of meters in Galway took to camping chairs in bright sunshine on Wednesday, pledging to continue their vigil for “as long as it takes”.

Residents of Rockfield Park on the city’s west side said they were not opposed to water meters per se, but objected to paying for a service which, they believe, will be “privatised in time”.

Their protest began on Monday when contractors for Irish Water arrived at the estate of some 100 houses and began marking out pavements with blue paint.

“We didn’t blockade anyone who wanted a meter, but we asked that they only be installed outside houses which had agreed to them,” Liz Walsh, a resident for over 30 years, explained.

Gardaí were called by the contractors, and names, addresses and dates of birth of some of the protesters were taken, she said.

Consenting houses

The contractors left but returned later to continue the installations outside consenting houses.

The residents are an informal group and stress they are not part of the estate’s official association.

They have mounted a 12-hour daily vigil under a copse of lime trees by the estate entrance.

“We’ve had support from Galway’s Right2Water campaign and people from other estates,”the Rockfield protesters said, stressing that they supported water conservation.

‘Excellent news’

Galway’s Right2Water campaign described as “excellent news” confirmation that Irish Water has collected less than half of the revenue due from domestic water charges in the first three months of billing.

Similar protests have been taking place in parts of Knocknacarra, where Irish Water contractors have been installing meters for the past month.

Out in the county there have been demonstrations in some areas, including Tuam, where one arrest was made several weeks ago.

Residents who have agreed to installation in Galway have expressed unhappiness about the untidiness of contractor teams after they have completed work.

Chief Supt Tom Curley, head of Galway’s Garda division, said gardaí had “responded to a number of protests in the city and county, and issues have been resolved to date”.