A small group of people gathered outside the headquarters of the former Anglo Irish Bank in Dublin today to protest at the pending payment of €1.25 billion to unsecured bondholders later this week.
The protesters, some of whom are affiliated with the Occupy Dame Street movement, said they plan to remain at the site during the day from now until Wednesday, when the payment falls due.
Occupy Dame Street described the protest as an “event of solidarity”, which will include musical performances and talks.
Emily Hosford from Limerick said she had joined the protest because the Government was not obliged to pay the bondholders and that citizens were not even aware who the bondholders in question were.
“Part of the reason I’m here today is to support awareness and to inform people,” she said.
Another woman, who asked not to be named, said she had become involved in the Real Democracy Now movement, which had its roots in the so-called ‘15M’ movement in Spain.
She was “extremely angry” at the payment to be made on Wednesday. There was no real obligation to pay it and the Government had shown a lack of courage and leadership in its willingness to pay the sum, she said.
Rosa O’Laoghaire from Galway, was also helping to distribute leaflets to passersby. She has also been involved with the Occupy Dame Street group in recent months.
“The argument that we will end up like Greece if we don’t pay [the bondholders] is wrong,” she said. “We have been doing everything the IMF and the ECB have told us to do and we are still like Greece. When the majority of people are unhappy and struggling then the system you have is not working.
“We are not claiming to have all the solutions but we want to provide a platform for people to come and talk about the problems that everybody recognises, and to come to a solution that everyone is happy with.”
Some of those protesting played drums outside the building at Stephen Court, which is the registered office of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Ltd, formerly Anglo Irish Bank.
About half a dozen uniformed gardaí stood at the front entrance to the building.
Last night, the Government defended its decision to pay the unsecured bondholders. On RTÉ television, Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar said any default would lead to higher borrowing costs for the State, companies such as the ESB and Bord Gáis and State-backed banks. Asked about pressure from the European Central Bank, Mr Varadkar said the bank and other members of the EU-IMF troika told the Government “it’s on your head” if it did not pay the money.
“We don’t want you to default on these payments, it is your decision ultimately. But a bomb will go off, a bomb will go off in Dublin, not in Frankfurt, because of the reasons I’ve outlined,” the Minister said in reference to the ECB’s remarks.
The ECB last week ruled out forcing losses on senior unsecured and unguaranteed bondholders at the bank, claiming it would damage confidence in the Irish banking system and could be “very costly”.