About 100,000 people filled the streets of the Irish capital Saturday to protest the government's handling of the country's economic crisis, police said.
The march through the heart of Dublin, organized by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, was in response to a government plan to cut public sector pay at a time when it is pumping billions of dollars into Ireland's troubled banks.
The government has argued that wage reductions are needed to keep Ireland's ballooning deficits under control and reassure international markets that the country is not spiraling toward a default.
But the plan, which effectively docks 7 percent from the paychecks of 350,000 Irish workers, comes amid revelations of shady dealings and irresponsible lending at the banks now getting taxpayers' help.
Ireland once had one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe, but boom turned to bust last year as shock waves from the subprime lending crisis in the United States spread across the globe.
Organizers originally planned the demonstration as a protest over the wage cutbacks, but later called on all Irish workers to turn out in a show of strength.
|