Central Bank won’t evict protestors

THE Central Bank is refusing to move protesters from a
plaza outside its headquarters on Dame Street, despite calls from local traders
who want the political activists evicted.

The Fownes Street Residence & Traders’ Association
recently wrote to the Governor of the bank, Patrick Honohan, urging him to move
the

‘Occupy Dame Street’ protest camp.

They claim the encampment, which includes wooden
palisades erected around its perimeter, is deterring customers from shopping in
local businesses.

The gardaí have already written to the protesters
asking them to vacate the site before the St Patrick’s Day parade for health
and safety reasons.

However, Governor Honohan has said he is

“not
inclined

? to evict the protesters as he feels they symbolise the feelings of
many Irish citizens who are disillusioned with the financial downturn and the
collapse of the banking system.

In a letter to the Governor, Frank McQuade, a
spokesperson for the Fownes Street Association, said the business community had
grave concerns about the validity and continuation of the protest.

“The collateral damage from this eyesore is now having
immeasurable financial implications to longstanding businesses and residents on
Fownes Street,

? he said.

“Footfall is a crucial element to the future of our
business. This has been severely decimated by this blockade.

“We now urge you for the future of our livelihoods to
seek the immediate eviction of what we believe to be no longer a protest of
conviction, but a wherewithal for participants of other agendas.

?

Mr McQuade told Southside People that the encampment
was blocking direct access from across the plaza to his clothes shop on nearby
Fownes Street.

He said the protest camp was blocking shoppers’ views
of his business.

“My business is destroyed,

? he claimed.

“I didn’t open
up for the last three days as there is no point. All the businesses in the area
have been affected.

“I have had to let all my staff go,

? he added.

“I am
25 years here and the business has been declining over the last two years but
this has been the final nail in the coffin.

?

Cllr Mannix Flynn (Ind) said the protesters, who were
originally supported by some locals, had now

“eroded

? this support.

“For the past four months the protest down there has
got more and more erratic,

? he said.

“It is not having any impact on the
downturn but it is impacting negatively on the community down there and on the
residents and the businesses.

“I believe that the protesters have eroded a lot of
support they may have had.

?

A spokeswoman for the Central Bank said it had no
comment to make on the matter

“further to those made by the Governor at a
speech last month

?.

In the speech Mr Honohan said:

“While not everyone is
happy with their being there, several people have said to me that their
presence symbolises, albeit in a rather ambiguous and even incoherent way, the
feelings of a large part of society in regard to what has gone wrong in the
financial sector and with the banks.

“We don’t welcome their presence, but as long as no
one is harmed or put in danger by them, we are not at present inclined to take
action to have them moved away.

?

Southside People attempted to contact a spokesman for
the Occupy Dame Street protesters but there was nobody available for comment.