We reproducing this article by Dr Rory Hearne, Researcher & Author of "Public Private Partnerships in Ireland: failed experiment or the way forward ?" to highlight some important background and context to this issue

Fears about the privatisation of public water provision was a central motivating factor behind the Right2Water protest movement but concerns about the privatisation of water are held by many other political and civil society groupings. The recently published Expert Commission on Water Services Report highlighted a widespread public “concern about the potential privatisation of Irish Water”. They stated that public responses to their consultation “expressed concerns that water charges, and metering of domestic households, could eventually lead to privatisation”. The Report notes that this “was sometimes set in the context of wider concerns about privatisation of public services, and the commodification of water”. However, it is widely known that various public and private interests have been preparing the ground for the potential privatisation of the Irish public water system. In this article I provide evidence that should concern all those worried about the potential privatisation of Irish public water. This centres on the on-going implementation of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the provision of public water infrastructure in Ireland. These PPPs are a form of ‘creeping privatisation’ that makes the full privatisation of our public water system a real possibility in the future. read full story / add a comment

Statement from AAA councillor and Socialist Party member Michael O’Brien on the occupation of Apollo House by housing rights activists with “Home Sweet Home”

Press statement: Councillor Michael O’Brien, Anti Austerity Alliance, Beaumont Donaghmede ward, Dublin City Council

Emergency motion submitted for tomorrow’s Dublin City Council North Central Area Committee meeting in Coolock calling for official recognition of Apollo House emergency accommodation and withdrawal of injunction read full story / add a comment