Why they protested

Some of yesterday's Dublin marchers have their say.

Some of yesterday's Dublin marchers have their say.

Terry Fayne (53), from Dublin, works for Lufthansa Airmotive Ireland

"Something like this should not happen within the Irish workforce. I have nothing against foreign workers but they must be treated in the same way and paid the same as Irish workers. I am stunned by the amount of people who came out today, a lot of my co-workers are here."

Christine McDonald (39), from Wisconsin, USA

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"I'm going to be a future resident of Ireland so I think if I am going to live here I should become involved with things like this. In the US, I was involved with the anti-war movement and the Green Party. I believe in human rights. I'm an immigrant and will be a migrant worker here myself soon. I came today to support democracy. When people think of migrant workers they think of everyone, someone like me who speaks English. There is a stereotype of a migrant worker. I'll probably get paid more when I start work here because I'm an English-speaker and that's wrong."

Dave Moore (36), from England, living in Dublin and working in UCD

"I came out because it just seems such an important issue in Irish society. There seems to be a race to the bottom attitude with some companies who offload workers en masse. It's a real threat to working terms and conditions if Irish Ferries can get away with this. I think it's fantastic that there has been such a show of support. A lot of migrant workers were there too and it was great to see everyone united in solidarity."

Peter Maughan (19), student chef in Dublin

"I used to be a member of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) and that's how I heard about the protest. I came along out of absolute disgust at how things are going at Irish Ferries. The conditions make me sick to my stomach. I would expect a lot more in this day and age. I hope today we got the message across to Irish Ferries. I have no problem with foreign workers coming in but the Irish workers need to work as well. That Irish workers could be thrown out of their jobs for cheaper labour is disgraceful. It makes me feel ashamed to be Irish. There's enough money in the country, it should never have come to this."

Margaret Forbes, works in the Dublin Dental Hospital

"You never know what might happen, it could be your own job next. I don't think the demonstration got enough support, but I think they should have held it at the weekend when more people were available. I don't like to see anyone being exploited, no matter what their shape or creed. We need both Irish and foreign workers. Someone doing the work of an Irish person should be paid an Irish wage."

Denis Walshe (46), civil servant

"I think it's important for workers' rights that they don't lose privileges that have been hard fought. The time of Dickens died a long time ago. A Christmas Carol is over. The rights and dignities of people have to be recognised by Government. I shouted 'Where's Bertie?' as we walked past Government Buildings. He says he is against what Irish Ferries are doing, but why didn't he show up? He could have made a token effort to at least send someone. The only people to benefit from the Celtic Tiger have been big enterprises. Outsourcing could easily affect the Civil Service, so I think it's important we stand up for everyone."

Louise McCormac-Parker (20), fine art student in Dún Laoghaire

"I'm here in support of workers' rights. It's a disgrace putting Irish workers out of their jobs to be replaced by slave labourers. I have no problem with foreigners working here legally but they deserve equal rights. Today has shown there is enough support across the county to fight for that."

Rachel McVeigh (20), applied biology student in Tallaght IT

"It's awful that people could randomly and for no apparent reason be made redundant. And trying to replace them with people being paid only a quarter of their wage is even worse. They should be paid the exact same. You just know that the Irish Ferries management are giving themselves large bonuses. It was great to see a lot of young people here today. I support foreign workers coming into the country because we need them but they must be paid the same."

Richard Malone (19), works in telecommunications at City West

"I got about 30 e-mails from different organisations about this march. I hate to see the greed of these big companies. They want to kick out skilled workers and replace them with foreign workers who probably don't have great English and then treat them like dirt as a result. If 10 per cent of people here today decided to boycott Irish Ferries and asked their friends to do the same, it would hurt the company. I'm going to try and organise that. Bertie has said his hands are tied on this. He should have appeared today and said his two cents, for a bit of comedy at least. He's not a true socialist."

Darren O'Toole (23), works as a freelance chef in Dublin

"I came to support equal rights for everyone no matter where they come from. Everyone should have an equal standard of living as a human right. I was very pleased to see such a huge crowd but was disappointed that there was no Government official. There was some police and security but no-one in authority to say, 'We heard you, we'll take your opinion on-board'."

Jean Clarke, a teacher in Marino College and TUI union member

"I came here to support the Irish Ferries workers. I think what is happening is appalling. Something has to be done before it spreads to other areas. People have a right to be paid a fair wage, many people have worked hard to get that wage put in place."

Breda Maguire, a teacher in Marino College and TUI union member

"We're teaching students who will be future workers themselves. What type of life can we prepare for them if this kind of thing is allowed to happen?"

Interviews by Ali Bracken