Head and shoulders above the protesters

I’ve always regarded President Higgins highly.  He’s a very able and articulate man who is passionate about the people of our state.  He’s being deliberately targeted by anti water charge protesters.  It’s very unfair to him, those who organise events, our citizens and our state.  The personal abuse of him and his wife Sabina is completely unacceptable.

The reason why Higgins is being targeted is because it was wrongly believed by supporters of the Right to Water, Sinn Fein and Socialist Workers Party that the President should not sign into law the legislation to introduce new lower water charges in December.

In fact the President refers the legislation only after consulting with the Council of State to the Supreme Court.  When the Supreme Court makes a decision that decision cannot be challenged again.  In other word the President can be ordered to sign the bill and no citizen can ever challenge it if the court finds in favour of the government.  If the Court finds against the bill it can be sent back to the Oireachtás where it can be partly amended and the bill then passed and it has to be signed.

Politicians know how the Supreme Court works, Paul Murphy has a law degree.  Here’s a suggestion, would Paul have not been better employed using his legal skills to challenge the act through the courts, if he thinks he has a case?  You see at the back of many minds there is the view that R2W, SF, SWP Socialist Party egos are driving a publicity campaign that is not about water but about the next election and winding up the electorate.  If the president had referred the bill one wonders what the campaigns response would have been to judges making the decision on this case?

It is appalling that the Presidency which is above politics is being dragged into a political dispute. This controversy could if it continues harm the office of president, one Irish political office which still has an enormous international prestige.

There is an onus on people organising campaigns to take responsibility for everything that happens.  That is not happening in all cases.  You cannot go some of the way with people you bring on the streets and when things take a turn, say, “well that’s got nothing to do with me”. The petrol bombing of a TD’s office, the telephoning of threats to the constituency office of Alan Kelly, the abuse of Labour councillor Martina Genockey during the local election campaign and of course the targeting of Joan Burton in Jobstown.  There just some of the high profile cases, all of us know that there are many others.

Recent comments by local Wexford People Before Profit councillor that Wexford councillors would be advised to listen to her mandate and allow protests within the council building by her supporters, because if they don’t she won’t otherwise be responsible for what will happen typifies the part threat,  part gutless abdication of responsibility that has become typical of a campaign that is more about publicity than fact.  

I’ve organised and taken part in more than my own fair share of protests.  Any protest should have an objective.  I can’t see what the objective is in Thursday’s protest in Dublin nor indeed the point in posting youtube footage that so damages their own campaign.   The R2W campaign should do the decent thing and apologise for what went on to the President, his wife, Colaiste Eoin and the community it serves.

For a man of small stature, President Higgins stands miles well above his detractors.