CLONMEL, Ireland — Michael Lumley, a 63-year-old unemployed father of three, is one of the hundreds of thousands of people around Ireland in recent months protesting new water charges introduced by the government. After six years of austerity measures brought in amid the Great Recession, he said, the water fees have brought him to a breaking point.

“I suffer from severe arthritis, and I can no longer work,” said Lumley, via email from his home in County Tipperary. “I receive a disability allowance to survive on each week, and like everyone else, I have bills to pay. I am dreading Christmas, as I will struggle to pay for it. I already pay for my water and can’t afford to pay any more.”

The government’s decision to set up a semi-state company to charge for water usage — replacing the current water system, which is paid for through general taxation — has proved the most controversial of the austerity measures introduced in Ireland since 2008 and has given birth to a mass social movement. The countrywide protests aim to prevent what is seen as double taxation on water for an already cash-strapped populace. A massive national protest is set to take place in Dublin, with others across the country, on Dec. 10 to coincide with Human Rights Day.

It has attracted international attention. Members of the Detroit Water Brigade — where more than 27,000 homes had their water cut off for not paying their bills — will arrive in Dublin to join the protests.

While the rest of Europe levies a direct charge for water, Ireland has until now funded its supply through taxes. The government tried to quell the discontent by publishing the water charges last month after the protest movement reached a fever pitch.

According to the new rates published in a memo of the government’s water services bill, the water bill for a single-adult home will be capped at 160 euros (about $200) per year, and the maximum charge for a multi-adult home will be capped at 260 euros (about $325) per year, regardless of the means of the occupants. These caps will remain in place until 2019, after which the rates may be increased. In the meantime, the government has made no explicit reduction in residents’ general taxes, which have financed the water supply to date.

Lumley feels the government’s move to create an independent charge for water is unnecessary. “Over the past six years we have had to pay an extra 5 percent on motor road tax, 5 percent on vehicle registration tax and 2 percent on VAT [the national sales tax]. This money raises 1.7 billion euros a year towards water services. The government spends 1.2 billion euros on the current water system each year. Where does the rest go?”

Meanwhile, he said, his disability payment has been reduced. "I, along with countless others, cannot afford to pay again for something we already pay for," said Lumley. "That is why I am against this unfair tax — that and the fact that the money raised from it will go to pay off banking debts, not my debt, so why should we have to pay it?”

In 2008, after the collapse of the banking system, the Irish government nationalized the private banking debt of six banks, taking loans of almost 85 billion euros from the European Financial Stabilisation Facility and the International Monetary Fund. The Irish people were forced to foot the bill through a range of austerity measures that have caused social repercussions such as home repossessions, homelessness, cutbacks to social services, unemployment and emigration. For the government to repay the loans, an independent assessor made a number of recommendations, including the implementation of an independent water service provider.

The Irish government set up that company, Irish Water, in July 2013. It is responsible for the operation of public water services, including management of national water assets, maintenance of the water system, investment and planning, managing capital projects, customer care and — most controversially — billing for water usage.

The coalition government of Fine Gael and the Labour Party argue that billing for water usage is needed to provide the funds to modernize an antiquated water infrastructure that has been neglected for decades.

Irish Water has paid out over 85 million euros in fees to consultants, contractors and lawyers as part of a startup budget of 180 million euros. The CEO of Irish Water’s annual salary of 200,000 euros has proved another sore point for voters who are angered by the government’s failure to fully reform the practices of previous governments in paying excessive salaries to CEOs of semi-state companies.

According to most recent data from the Central Statistics Office in Ireland, more than 750,000 Irish were living in poverty in 2012, including 220,000 children and 68,740 pensioners. From 2007 to 2012, the percentage living in consistent poverty nearly doubled, from 4.2 to 7.7 percent. In the same period, the gap between the richest and poorest 20 percent of the population increased by more than 11 percent.

Ireland, whose private banks gambled (and lost) more per capita than any other European country, was disproportionately affected by the economic crisis. The tiny country is paying almost 42 percent of the total European banking debt, despite making up only 1 percent of its population, according to Eurostat.

The crisis has cost Ireland 25 percent of its GDP, compared with 1.5 percent in Germany. While the average cost is 192 euros per person in the EU, the figure stands at 9,000 euros per person for Irish citizens, not taking into account the 18 billion euros put in from the Irish National Pension Reserve Fund.

“I appreciate that any new charge is difficult, especially in light of the last number of years,” said Transport Minister Pascal Donohue. “However, very few people, I think, would disagree with the fact that we need to put a system in place that will allow for adequate investment in our water services.