Water protesters staged a number of demonstrations across the country this afternoon, the largest of which was in Dublin city centre.

The protests were part of a sustained campaign planned for the weeks coming up to the general election, which will include another demonstration on the last Saturday before the election.

Organisers say they are protesting against a number of other austerity measures alongside water charges.

30 rallies, organised by the Right2Water Campaign, took place in 21 locations nationwide, including events in Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Limerick and Waterford.

(RollingNews/Eamonn Farrell)

You can find a full list of today's events here.

A major demonstration was held in Dublin City Centre, where around 5,000 demonstrators gathered at Connolly Station and Christchurch before walking to the main protest outside the GPO. 

These protesters said they hope the government does a u-turn on water charges ahead of the election:

These people in Dublin said claims by the government that a recovery is under way are false:

“Water charges are an economically inefficient imposition on the public, which will do nothing to promote conservation but will facilitate a transfer of wealth on a massive scale," said Right2Water's Brendan Ogle.

"Right2Water is calling on all members of the public to come out to support their local Right2Water event this Saturday," he added.

John Douglas, the General Secretary of the Mandate union, said they "promised over a year and a half ago that we would make water charges the number one issue for this election and today’s set of demonstrations is a step towards that objective”.