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Tactics at water charges protests paved way for fuel blockades and demonstrations

Opposition parties need to remember the Government has a mandate from the public

Letters to the Editor. Illustration: Paul Scott
The Irish Times – Letters to the Editor
Tue Apr 21 2026 - 06:00 • 1 MIN READ

Sir, – The seems to be a lot of soul-searching about the meaning of the fuel protest and whether some form of red line has been crossed in terms of political protest. It seems that we have reached some watershed moment.

Alas, that line was crossed some time ago. The degraded state of our political discourse originated with the water charges protests. Blockading ministers, inciting mass civil disobedience, ripping up utility bills in the Dáil and deploying deeply coarse language. That was when it all started. – Yours, etc,

PETER MALONE,

Dún Laoghaire,

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Co Dublin.

Sir, – Since the general election in November 2024, Sinn Féin and others in Opposition have been telling the Government they aren’t listening to the people. At that election, the Opposition parties could not form a majority. So as it stands the people of Ireland have a democratically elected Government put in by a very large number of “ordinary people”. – Yours, etc,

MARY BARRETT,

Raheny,

Dublin.