Kilkenny People Before Profit have organised an online Zoom meeting entitled ‘The Fight for the Future’. It will discuss Eco-socialism, Renewable Energy and how to get it right, and the struggle for equality in the age of a pandemic. Dublin based TD Paul Murphy, who recently merged with PBP, will be joining Carlow Cllr Adrienne Wallace, who was also the general election candidate for the constituency, and Trish Brennan a community worker from Kilkenny. It will take place on Wed Mar 31st at 7:30 pm. Details and access for zoom meeting can be found on the Facebook page of Cllr Adrienne Wallace by searching ‘@WallacePBP’
Cllr Wallace added “I’m very excited to speak at this meeting directly to Kilkenny audiences, many of whom voted Green in the last election but are dismayed at what has happened since they got into government. I have had a lot of people in Kilkenny contact me with serious concerns about industrial-scale wind farms popping up, and we have had the same issues in Carlow. Although everyone is in favour of renewable energy the government has opened the door to bug business renewables whose main priority is profit. Consequently, they are pushing a model that risks the wellbeing of local people and the local environment. We must fight for a model that works in tandem with the community and the local environment and I will be spelling that out.
Trish Brennan is a local community worker, she is concerned about what the future holds and how the pandemic is affecting women and their human rights. She added “A health crisis such as COVID-19 can make existing inequalities for women and girls worse. Especially for women experiencing increased violence and abuse, which has spiked dramatically.”
She added “In general, marginalised groups are more vulnerable during emergencies; women and children are particularly isolated and vulnerable as funding to support services had already been slashed pre-pandemic. There is a need to constantly highlight this issue and put a spotlight on it as a scourge in our communities. More community and voluntary supports are needed for women in the community. The empowerment and collective participation of women is critical to tackling this problem – and it is crucial that the voices and needs of women are present and heard as responses to COVID-19 and gender-based violence crisis in particular continues.”