Irish March Against Budget Cuts

Not without a fight: After Ireland's government, reeling from public debt stemming from the failing bank sector, cleared a $114 billion austerity plan, 45,000 workers and protesters took to the streets to rebel against the harsh welfare and public job cuts. The country is suffering one of its roughest economic downturns, and will cut 25,000 public jobs—about 10 percent of the government workforce—as well as impose a $20 billion program of tax increases and spending cuts over the next four years. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions, an umbrella organization, put together the “family friendly” march along the River Liffey in central Dublin.