Press Release- Solidarity- People Before Profit 11/09/2018
Solidarity- People Before Profit hold ‘Think In’ in Dublin Hotel
Dáil group discusses priority issues for the upcoming political term and highlight housing, abortion legislation, precarious work and the separation of church and state
Solidarity- People Before Profit held their ‘think in’ before the start of the Dáil term to identify their political priorities for the upcoming period.
The group is made up of People Before Profit TDs Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire), Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central), Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West) and Solidarity TDs Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West), Mick Barry (Cork North Central) and Paul Murphy (Dublin South West).
They discussed four pillar areas in which they would focus on:
- Housing
- Abortion Legislation
- Separation of Church and State
- Precarious Work
Speaking at the event Richard Boyd Barrett TD for People Before Profit said: “The four pillar areas that we, as a group, will be targeting this political term are the areas of housing, the abortion legislation, the separation of church and state and precarious work.
“The housing crisis is totally out of control and Fine Gael are unwilling to take the emergency measures that are necessary to resolve it. The current housing emergency is not an accident it flows directly from Fine Gael’s policy of putting the profits of vulture funds and property speculators ahead of the needs of our citizens for a secure affordable roof over their head.
“There are hundreds of thousands of people out there who are stuck on the housing list; 10,000 are having to raise their families in hotel rooms or hubs; huge numbers living in fear of eviction because of mortgage arrears or exorbitant rent. What we need is for the government to abandon the failed Rebuilding Ireland plan and commit to delivering a minimum of 20,000 public and affordable housing units per year for the next five years, built directly by the state on publicly owned land. They also must immediately stop all evictions into homelessness and introduce real rent controls.
“Crucially, we will be doing everything over the coming weeks to mobilise a massive demonstration outside the Dáil on October 3rd for the Raise the Roof protest and the emergency housing motion that the opposition will be putting down that day in the Dáil chamber.”
Solidarity TD for Cork North Central Mick Barry said “The housing and homelessness crisis will be a major issue in the next Dáil term as it continues to spiral out of control.
“Fine Gael has been attempting to pass the blame for the crisis onto councils and have claimed that they can’t fix the problem ‘overnight’.
“However, it is central government not councils which hasn’t provided enough finance, refuses to process projects quickly and has refused to instruct NAMA to use its residential lands to tackle the crisis. They’ve also been in government for 7 years while the crisis deepened – in that time they could have been building homes to avoid the situation which now faces tens of thousands of people.
“We have no confidence in Eoghan Murphy or any other Minister to solve this crisis if they continue with these same failed policies. In four local authority areas Solidarity has produced detailed costed plans for developments of social and affordable housing which shows how the crisis could be tackled.
“The state has enough land to build 114,000 homes. We need public homes on public land. All the resources of the state should be brought together to provide the tens of thousands of homes a year that are needed.”
Brid Smith, People Before Profit TD for Dublin South Central said: “We want the abortion legislation enacted as quickly as possible, which is the will of the people. The result of the referendum to repeal the 8th amendment was a momentous moment in the history of this state. The women of this country need access to abortion that is free safe and legal without any unnecessary delay. Every day there are 12 women leaving this country to seek an abortion elsewhere.
Speaking on the leaking of the Scally Report she said: “We condemn the leaking of the Scally Report- it is an outrageous undermining of the women involved and shows total disrespect to their suffering and to their families. We condemn the outsourcing of the screening program which is at the heart of this scandal and we want total repatriation of the screening programme.
“Government should not be doing any deals to indemnify the labs already involved in this scandal.”
She went on to note that precarious work would be one of the major issues the grouping target in the upcoming Dáil term.
She said: “We will be looking to raise the issue of precarious work and the gains that can be won by workers if they are willing to stand up for their rights.
“In this regard, we would like to send huge congratulations to the Ryanair pilots who achieved a massive victory against the company and precarious work. Their action in bringing the most anti-union company to the negotiation table is an example for all workers.
“The key to undermining the abuse of employers and precarious work is the ability of workers to have access to free collective bargaining, to join the union of their choice and to be able to negotiate their pay and conditions in an open market.
“We also want to commend and pay tribute to the Lloyd’s pharmacy workers who are undertaking a very courageous strike for their pay and conditions. Both of these sets of workers are shining examples for all other workers.”
Ruth Coppinger, Solidarity TD for Dublin Westsaid “The stunning victory of the repeal referendum and the reaction to the Pope’s visit show that for a whole generation there is a desire for radical change in Ireland on issues like abortion rights and the state’s relationship with the church.
“There is a demand in society for progressive changes on a whole range of issues. An example of this is in Sex Education in schools where young people want to have an education that is LGBTQ+ inclusive that deals with gender and consent. This can’t happen while religious orders run and own schools because they can argue it is against their ethos.
“Women in particular want to see the end of a society in which they are treated like second class citizens, and have been failed by the state on a broad range of issues. Today we see how the government have treated the women at the centre of the cervical cancer scandal which is disgraceful.
“Solidarity – People Before Profit will highlight and campaign on these issues to bring to the fore the need to fully separate church and state.”
Ends
Contact- Nick Lee (Press Officer, People Before Profit)- 087 615 6473
Dave Murphy (Press Officer, Solidarity)- 0858221795