A disgruntled nation has finally found its voice

•PHOTO CREDIT: Stephen Kavanagh

A disgruntled nation has finally found its voice, it seems.

Other countries must have marvelled at our apparent tolerance for the brutal austerity measures imposed on us since the IMF/EU bailout in 2010. It’s ironic that this bubbling discontentment only boiled over after the Government unveiled what they widely termed a “neutral” budget.

Once again we were being assured that the worst was over (the late Brian Lenihan rued the day he uttered those words in the Dáil). While all the economic barometers such as housing and employment were starting to head in the right direction, the cumulative effects of punitive taxes eventually took their toll. I find it interesting that it was the issue of water charges that got people out on the streets in their tens of thousands and not the imposition of property tax a couple of years ago. Whatever about the rather spurious case for landing us with yet another household bill dressed up as some sort of water conservation measure, there is something particularly immoral about taxing the family home in the teeth of the worst property crash in modern history.

It beggars belief that people straddled with massive mortgage debt – particularly those in negative equity – should be expected to pay a tax on their ‘asset’. Let’s not forget that the deposits we had to find to get on the property ladder was after-tax income. Our monthly mortgage payments are also after-tax income.

Property tax is a bitter pill to swallow for those who had to pay ridiculous sums in stamp duty during the Celtic Tiger years.

It’s extraordinary that we allowed ourselves to be bullied by the Government into accepting property tax. Why weren’t we on the streets then? What’s going to happen when house values inevitably rise and we have to recalculate our LPT liability after 2016?

The Government’s jittery reaction to the water charges protests shows that Fine Gael and Labour have finally grasped the political reality of the situation. The recent poll showing Sinn Féin to be the most popular party in the country will have further concentrated minds in Government Buildings - and this at a time when Gerry Adams is embroiled in the Mairia Cahill controversy.

We will have a new Government by 2016 but will regime change make any difference to our lives? Recent history will have taught us not to hold our breath. Expect the next Government to blame the old one for all our ills.