On Monday (20 April 15) Gardai made 15 arrests on Parnell Road, Dublin 8 including Joan Collins TD and Cllr. Pat Dunne. The arrests marked a serious escalation in the Garda response to the peaceful resisistence to the installation of meters in the Dubin 8 area. The protest covered in the video below was called for the same evening to highlight the community's response to the Garda activity.

Recent research by Rory Hearne and the students in Maynooth on the water protest suggests that the majority of protesters (54%) have never protested before. In addition it reveals that the reason that people have taken to the streets is not necessarily about water charges at all but is related to the austerity of the last 6 years. 60% of people said the the reason they were protesting was because austerity had "gone too far."