Socialist Party condemns destruction of Occupy Dame Street camp

Should a government Minister be allowed to make a far reaching statement that sharply contradicts the thrust of government policy and not be immediately challenged as to the practical implications? If the media afforded acres of coverage to such a statement, should it not then demand that the Minister spell out what concrete action she/he proposed to take if the statement was to mean anything more than empty posturing?

It is clear that hundreds of thousands of households will refuse to register or to pay the household tax.  The only issue is whether this number will be more than half a million, more than three-quarters of a million or more than a million itself.  With big numbers deciding it is better to break the law than to break the poor, this is a key first step in a major campaign of civil disobedience.

Commentators and media are already looking toward the centenary of the 1916 Rising. There has been much less comment so far on the centenary of the 1913 Dublin Lockout, also a pivotal moment in our history, despite the fact that July marks the beginning of the events one hundred years ago that led to the most intense labour struggle ever on this island.